


The Sweetest Lie

by lalunaoscura



Series: Tell me pretty lies [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, FLUFF WEEK 2K20 BABIES, Fake Marriage, Fluff, Post Reveal, Post-Hawk Moth Defeat, yeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22591162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalunaoscura/pseuds/lalunaoscura
Summary: After years since "The Lie", Adrien and Marinette are living happily.Their lives are simple and peaceful - until Adrien decides to do something he shouldn't have: to lie and tell that he was married to Marinette.Now, they have to convince everyone that they are already married or else they will have to deal with the consequences.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Tell me pretty lies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1625476
Comments: 56
Kudos: 243





	1. Day 1: Concert

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everybody, and welcome to NONSENSE #2!!!
> 
> You don't need to have read the first fic to understand this one, but I advise you to read it to make the story more fun!
> 
> I used Grammarly on the first story (and I'm using it in this one too) to fix some mistakes, but my English can be rough, don't worry, I know this since English is my second language and I'm still improving it *sips tea*
> 
> If any of you follow me on Tumblr (and if you don't, it's lalunaoscura.tumblr.com), I told you I won't be able to write the fluff week because my laptop was dying. But IT LIVES!!! It's more a desktop than a laptop now, but it's working. So, FLUFF WEEK IS ON!!
> 
> Hope you enjoy! <3

_Living the sweetest lie, yeah_   
_Come on baby, give me love_

* * *

“Happy birthday, dude!” Nino said, hugging Adrien. “Twenty-five years, a quarter of life already!”

Marinette snorted as she sipped her wine. Alya bent to kiss her cheek.

“What? Do you think I won’t live to be a hundred? Hey, Alya.”Adrien asked Marinette as he accepts Alya’s hug.

“Happy birthday, Sunshine!” Alya kissed his cheek and sat across from Marinette, waiting for Nino to finish greeting her friend to sit beside her.

“No, I don’t think you’re going to be a hundred,” Marinette smirked, watching Adrien sit next to her and then staring at Alya. “And why did you take so long?”

“Nino changed his shirt, like, seven times,” she rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I needed a decent shirt if we’re going to Luka’s show. But tell me, M, why do you think Adrien won’t reach the hundred?”

“With the amount of croissant that he eats every day? If one day he’s over fifty, I’ll be surprised.”

Adrien gasped, pretending to be hurt as he leaned toward Marinette.

“What about our plans to grow old together?”

“Eat fewer croissants then!”

Nino started to laugh as Alya rolled her eyes, smiling.

“It’s not my fault if your father taught me how to make them,” Adrien defended himself with a laugh.

“He taught you so you could help in the bakery, not to eat them all the time!”

“But, princess, they’re delicious!”

“But I want to grow old with you!” she retorted, pouting. Adrien couldn’t resist and ignore the fact that he was having dinner with his best friends and not just his girlfriend, he leaned over and kissed her.

He felt Marinette smile in the kiss and almost whimpered as she broke the kiss.

“You two can be grosser than you were when you started dating. I mean, when you finally let us know that you were dating.”

Marinette and Adrien tried to contain their nervousness because although nearly ten years had passed since _The Lie_ , as they affectionately named it, Nino and Alya still didn’t know that they fake date.

After all, if they told them that they pretended to date before they actually did, they would have to explain why they disappeared during the akuma attacks. Two years had passed since they had defeated Papillon, but no one yet knew who Ladybug and Chat Noir were.

Master Fu had asked for secrecy in exchange for letting them stay with Tikki and Plagg, and they eagerly agreed.

“The funny thing is that you hid your relationship for five months and when everyone knew it, you stuck to each other like the horny teens we all knew you were,” Alya commented, taking a sip.

Marinette blushed hard as Adrien coughed, remembering the countless times he turned into Chat Noir or Marinette transformed into Ladybug to visit each other in their rooms. Yes, most of the time, they just watched movies and talked, but a few kisses happened until she finally agreed to move with him, almost two years ago.

live with him.

“Yes, we were disgusting. Now, how about instead of teasing us, we order dinner so we won’t be late for the concert?” Adrien commented, also flushed, as Nino shook his head in exasperation.

“You promised not to tease him on his birthday, Alya.”

“I know, but I changed my mind. It’s a lot more fun to tease them.”

*

Adrien simply loved concerts, especially if he was one of his friends playing.

Luka had always been very talented and the music producers soon noticed the talent when they listened to him playing for Clara and Jagged. It didn’t take long for him to pursue his solo career and be very successful.

And whenever possible, he would return to Paris for a charity show. And Adrien and Marinette went whenever possible. After all, supporting Luka was one way they had found to thank what he had done for both of them in the past, helping them unmask Lila Rossi and thus allowing them to be together.

Adrien still remembered his conversation with Luka a few weeks after Lila Rossi had left Paris, asking why he had done that. Luka had said that he loved Marinette very much and that he wanted her to be happy – and she was happy beside Adrien, not his.

Luka’s act had been noble, and honestly, Adrien couldn’t tell if he had the strength to do the same. Because thinking about a life without Marinette, without his lady, was painful. They were side by side for twelve years, and dating for nine. He had gotten used to having her in his life. And until she wants him, he would be there for her.

For everything to be perfect, he just needed to have the courage to take his mother’s engagement ring from the vault and make the request to make Marinette his wife.

“Where is my _minou_? Because here, he isn’t,” she shouted to be heard, approaching him. Adrien blinked and then smiled, caressing her face with his thumb.

“I got a little distracted.”

“In the middle of Luka’s concert? It must have been something very important to distract you like that!” she laughed and Adrien felt the air steal from his lungs.

She was all sweaty, her hair already tousled and messy, her clothes clinging to her body. But the smile was wide and her eyes sparkled with joy and excitement. She had never been so beautiful and the only thing he wanted at the moment was to kiss her and ask her…

“Marry me,” he said before he could stop himself.

_Please, that she didn't listen, please, that she didn't listen, please–_

“Marry you?” her voice came out shaky.

“Yes. You think about marrying me, don’t you?” he said, ignoring that they were in the middle of a concert full of people jumping and singing and shouting. At that moment, not even Nino and Alya were there, no one was there. It was just him and her, both in their world.

“One day,” she said, smiling and hugging him, tiptoeing to kiss him. Adrien returned the kiss with gusto, sliding his hands along her sweaty, disheveled strands, lingering on devouring her.

He broke the kiss because they were both breathless and she was with her eyes closed, an expression of pure bliss on her countenance. When she opened her eyes slowly, Adrien lost his breath, all more enchanted by that woman’s beauty.

He didn’t know what he had done to deserve her love, but he was glad of it.

“Marry me. Now,” he pleaded in her ear and heard her laugh.

“I said one day, right?”

“When?”

Instead of answering him, she took him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him once more.

The two had to break the kiss when the song ceased and Luka stood on stage alone. He held the microphone and the whole audience vibrated.

“I hope you are having a great time today!”

The crowd shouted excitedly and it started screaming “Luka!”. Adrien felt Marinette move excitedly in his arms and didn’t contain his smile, bending to kiss her cheek. Marinette pressed his hand to her waist, letting herself be hugged even more by her _chaton_.

“Thank you all for coming. It is a pleasure to play for you, especially with a purpose as special as today. Today, the funds for this show go to one of the institutions I seek to help the most. Their cause, my friends, is noble. Paris needs them and they need you.”

By some miracle, the audience fell silent, listening to Luka’s speech carefully.

“For years, our city has been haunted by a villain. A villain who out of pure selfishness made people also villains. No matter if anyone was going to get hurt, what it would cost, what families would get hit. Our heroes have helped us a lot, and we are very grateful to them. Many people have managed to overcome the trauma of becoming an akuma or having an akumatized relative. Others don’t. I had trouble getting over it. To stop having nightmares, trying to forget the memories of my own akumatization. My mother’s akumatization, my sister’s. All my friends that were hit. It was scary. It was scary to close your eyes and see all that.”

Adrien’s breath caught and he felt Marinette tense in his arms.

“And I got help from Institute White Butterfly, an institution prepared to help people who developed PTSD because of the akuma attacks. Their treatment is completely free and amazing, they are ready to help you. Two years have passed since Gabriel Agreste was arrested, but the consequences of his actions are still there,” he paused a little. “If you have been akumatized, a friend or family member, or if you simply developed PTSD because of the attacks, reach them. They will help you. And with your help today with this show, they will continue to help even more. So! Let’s continue.”

With that, he took the guitar and started the chords of the next song.

The people on the show got involved in the music and started singing and dancing normally, but Adrien’s mind was once again somewhere else. But this time, he wasn’t thinking about the dark-haired woman in his arms, who he loved so much and how much he wanted her to become his wife, but in Luka’s words.

The concert continued and with a little effort, Adrien stopped thinking about the Institution and his father’s actions and concentrated on celebrating his birthday with his friends. When the concert was over, he went to his house with Marinette.

They shared the shower and fell into bed, too tired even to wear pajamas. Marinette slept quickly, but Adrien turned in bed several times and tried to sleep, but he couldn’t. Giving up, he got out of bed, not wanting to wake Marinette. He went to the bedroom balcony doors and opened them, letting in the cool night air.

Adrien just kept thinking of Luka’s words about Institute White Butterfly. He had never heard of this institution, ever. He didn’t even imagine that something like that existed. If he had known, he would have gone to visit them as Chat Noir or had made some video like the hero asking for donations. He would have done something to help those who were trying to help who his father had hurt.

He wanted to help. Helping who your father had hurt, and helping in a big way to pay all his father had done for years. But how? If the money he was earning in the few modeling jobs and the bakery was not much. Yes, he could give and feel good about it, but it wouldn’t be enough for him.

 _His_ father had done it all. He wanted to make a big donation. For all twelve years his father has hurt everyone.

Maybe recording a video like Chat and asking for donations would be the best solution. It wasn’t as if he had access to his father’s fortune since first he didn’t want to, second because all his fortune money was inaccessible since Gabriel was in prison and…

 _Wait_.

All of Gabriel’s money was inaccessible, but the money _Emilie_ had left for Adrien wasn’t. Since Adrien was born, Emilie had deposited an amount in the bank for Adrien. For him to use as he pleased.

Adrien was going to use it for college since his father didn’t want to let him go. But some talk and a lot of arguments, some from Marinette, Gabriel finally allowed him to go to college. The money was still there and he had no idea how to spend it.

Until that present moment. He wanted to help the people his father had hurt. And he had a way how.

He would call his lawyer in the morning and find out if he had access to this money in any way. His mother would be extremely happy to know that he was using the money for good. And that would help him alleviate his guilt for not noticing that his father was Papillon.

Yes, he would do that. Tomorrow he would work on that.

Adrien felt arms wrap around his waist and Marinette kissed his back. He felt infinitely better after that.

“It’s cold and late, isn't’ it? she commented.

He turned and hugged her, kissing the top of her head.

“Well, could you warm me up, maybe?”

She smiled broadly, nodding.

“Let’s go to bed, shall we?”

He nodded and they went back to bed. They tucked under the covers and Marinette immediately threw her leg over Adrien’s hip, cuddling up and hugging him. Adrien sighed, putting his arm behind her head to serve as a pillow.

“My lady…” he hesitated.

“Yes?”

“Do you know the institute that Luka spoke on the show? To help people traumatized by akuma attacks?”

Marinette moved her face so that she could face him. A gentle smile spread as she placed her hand on his face.

“I figured you would be touched because of it. Want to help somehow?”

“Do you think we could visit them… like Ladybug and Chat Noir? Or do you think they prefer not to see us because of what we can make them remember?”

“We can call those in charge of the Institute and ask if it’s okay if we go.”

“And I wanted to help with the donation,” he started to play with her hair, brushing it. “I… I feel bad that I never noticed it was _him_. And I want to help.”

“Mon _chaton_ , you are not to blame for your father’s mistakes.”

“I know I'm not, it’s just… I want to help more. You know?”

She looked up at him and a sweet smile broke across her face. Lying over him, she cupped his face with both hands and kissed his forehead, then each of his eyes, his nose, and finally his mouth. Adrien returned the kiss, nibbling her bottom lip later.

“The world would be a much better place if people had a heart like yours, _mon chaton_. I’m with you. No matter what.”

He smiled at her and Marinette practically melted in his arms, kissing him again with excitement. He laughed, breaking the kiss to face her.

“What?”

“Nothing, I just love you so much. Just that,” she kissed him again. “Okay, any ideas to help the Institute?”

“Let’s say I have some.”


	2. Day 2: Trust

The next day, they started putting the plan into action. Adrien’s idea was to negotiate with the bank, using the help of his lawyer – and previously, his mother’s lawyer – to gain access to his mom’s savings.

To say he was nervous would be unnecessary. He hardly slept at night, spending most of the night trying not to move in bed not to wake Marinette. She had been awake for a long time listening to his plan and trying to get him to sleep, but one moment the tiredness had won and she slept in his arms.

When she woke up the next day, furious with herself for sleeping when her _chaton_ needed her, Adrien showered her with kisses to assure her that even though he hadn’t slept well, he was fine.

“Thanks for the birthday present, by the way. I loved yesterday,” he said, giving her an Eskimo kiss. Marinette sighed, holding his face with both hands.

“I wish I had done more.”

“It was perfect. I love spending time with you, Nino and Alya,” he kissed her again, feeling himself melt when she started playing with his hair. “Okay, we need to stop or we’re going to be late.”

“Just one more,” she asked and he didn’t resist, kissing her again. The kiss extended more than it should and when Adrien noticed, he was already trailing kisses down her neck.

“Princess,” he sat on the bed, laughing when he saw her pout. “We need to go.”

“I know,” she sighed and then sat too. Adrien watched her yawn, her messy hair and the most beautiful sleep expression in the world. She scratched her eyes, mumbling something he couldn’t understand, while kicking the blanket with her legs, trying to get rid of the very cocoon she had made herself.

Adrien didn’t know if it was possible to fall in love with her even more, but apparently, it was, because his heart sped up.

“What?” she asked confused.

“I am the luckiest person in the world to have a woman as incredible as you as my partner,” he murmured and she widened her eyes, blushing soon after.

“You can’t tell me that kind of thing,” she whispered.

“And why not?”

“Because it will make you late. And you can’t be late. You have an important problem to solve. Go take a shower, I’ll prepare breakfast. Oh, and you should shave. You will look more serious.”

“I thought you were enjoying the beard,” he played with the strands that were starting to clump on his face.

“First, this isn’t even a beard. It’s an attempt,” she said, getting up from the bed. “Second, it tickles. I’ve said it a lot of times.”

“Well, you don’t seem to care about it when I’m kissing your neck,” he smirked and she tossed the pillow at him.

“Hurry up, alley cat. Or you will be late.”

Adrien got up and went to the bathroom, stopping halfway just to kiss Marinette on the cheek, who smiled sweetly and made his heart speed again.

He would never stop falling in love with her, would he?

Adrien decided to shave – in fact, he _tried_. Emphasis on the word tried because he trembled so much that he couldn’t keep the razor steady. He thought of trying anyway, but he was afraid to cut himself.

Biting his bottom lip, he deposited the razor in the sink and took a deep breath. He didn’t know what was making him more nervous: having to see his mother’s lawyer after ten years, getting access to the money his mother had left or donating as Adrien and being accused of trying to clear Gabriel's name.

Since he had been arrested, since they had captured Papillon and discovered that he was his father, Adrien had always been open to the media that he didn’t know what Gabriel was doing and that he was totally against the decisions he had made.

Adrien had testified against his father, but some people still thought he would be able to forgive the man who had tried to kill him and his lady several times. Out of pure selfishness. For feeling a sick love for his mother to the point of not accepting that she is gone.

Should Adrien make this donation? What would people say? What if he couldn’t get access to his _mother_ ’s bank account? What if Gabriel had blocked it too? What if the police found out that he was trying to access that account and go after him, accusing him?

Okay, calm down. He was thinking too much. First, he had to go to the bank and see if the bank account still existed and if he could access it. Then he would think about all the other points of the donation.

That thought, however, didn’t help him shave. He was still nervous, so he delayed applying the shaving lotion, trying to stay calm. When even that didn’t help, he did what he should have done from the start: he called Marinette.

“Princess?” he called out loud.

“Yes?”

“Are you busy?”

“No, _chaton_. What is it?” She said, entering the bathroom. “Hey, you’re going to be late.”

“I know, it’s just that I’m too nervous. My hands keep shaking and I can’t shave. Can you… can you help me?”

Immediately, Marinette’s worried expression melted and she looked at him fondly, smiling as she indicated the bathtub. Adrien sat in the corner while she took the razor and approached him.

“Why are you nervous?” she asked sweetly, lifting his face gently and adjusting the shaving cream over his face.

“I was wondering if they are going to want a donation from Adrien _Agreste_. You know, the son of the guy who made them have PSTD in the first place.”

She stopped sliding the razor down his cheek, looking at him seriously.

“Adrien, you have no connection with your father anymore.”

“I know I don’t, Marinette, but… sometimes I still think I should change my last name. Use my mother’s maiden name? Or I don’t know, yours?” he winked at her, playfully.

She rolled her eyes, shaving him

“My love, pay attention because I’m going to say this again. You’re a wonderful, gentle, sweet, incredible man and the world would be an infinitely better place if people had a little bit of the kindness you have in their hearts,” she carefully slid the razor across his chin.

“Marinette…” he murmured softly.

“Your donation will be welcome. You will help many people with it. But if you think people are going to say things or if you’re not confident of donating on your behalf, we always have the _Chat_ to help us, don’t we?” She winked and Adrien laughed.

“You’re right.”

“Of course I am, I’m always right. Now, please, be very quiet so I can finish that beard and not hurt you,” she asked.

Silence reigned in the bathroom while Marinette finished Adrien’s beard, but neither of them seemed to mind the silence. Adrien’s hands caressed her waist while Marinette finished his beard, with all the care and attention.

“Done! You have a babyface again!” She smiled, handing the razor to him. “Now, finish getting ready or you will be late.”

He stood up and pulled her around the waist, kissing and smearing her with what was left of shaving cream. She tried to walk away, laughing, but he hugged her from behind and rubbed his face on the back of her neck, filling it with shaving cream.

“Adrien!” She tried to scold, but her voice was so excited that she ended up laughing. “Okay, okay, now that’s enough, you stray cat!”

“You should take a shower,” he commented as he played with the strap of her shirt.

“Should I?”

“Yep,” he murmured, giving a kiss behind her ear and feeling her shiver. “I’m going to take a shower now, I can help you clean all that shaving cream.”

“You will be late.”

“I won’t. I promise you.”

“Promise me?

“I do, my lady.”

“Well, in that case… I think you can help me take a shower,” she smiled, turning and giving Adrien a long kiss, who picked her up in a bride stile and made her laugh as he led her over to the bathtub.

*

“You’re late.”

“ _Buongiorno_ , Vincent. It’s so good to see you so early in the morning!” Adrien said, smiling widely as he deposited his bag on the floor. “Traffic was difficult today.”

“Traffic or Marinette?” Vincent joked as he adjusted the camera as the makeup artists approached Adrien to start the makeup.

“Wow, so funny!” he rolled his eyes.

“It’s time to you marry this woman,” the photographer said. “I’m getting tired of this nonsense already.”

“She is the one who doesn’t want to accept. I’ve asked her so many times, I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“If Marinette wasn’t so scary, I would fight for you,” Joan, one of the makeup artists, joked. Adrien smiled, blushing.

“She will say yes, don’t worry. Until the end of the month, I’m going to make her say yes to my marriage proposal.”

Vincent laughed and Adrien gasped.

“Your lack of faith in me hurts.” Adrien put his hand on his chest.

“If you’re so confident, why don’t we place a bet?”

“Deal. One hundred euros that I convince her to marry me by the end of the month.”

“It’s a deal. Now come on, ace. We need to start this photoshoot soon.”

After a long but fun photo session, Adrien stopped on his home to put on the suit to meet with his mother’s lawyer and the bank manager. Marinette wasn’t at home, she certainly was at her clothing store or in her atelier working on the commissions she had.

He put on his suit and struggled a little to put on his tie, having to be helped by Plagg. Smiling, Adrien stroked his index finger under Plagg’s chin.

“I’ll buy you camembert later.”

“I really hope so.”

Verifying that he had taken his wallet and keys, Adrien checked his appearance in the hall mirror before leaving the house. The trip to the bank was tense, with Adrien’s soothing playlist playing on the car radio.

When he finally arrived and turned off the car, he took a few deep breaths while turning off the radio. When he saw that he could act like a normal human being, he made sure that Plagg was in his suit jacket pocket and got out of the car.

As he walked over to the bank, he kept spinning the miraculous on his finger with his thumb, a guarantee that everything was still normal in his life. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket and he stopped, picking it up.

The smile that he opened was wide when he saw the notification.

[Princess <3]: Hey, _mon chaton_! You must be on the way to the meeting or already in it…

[Princess <3]: I just wanted to let you know that I’m here cheering for you.

[Princess <3]: It will be all right, my love. I trust you and your kindness :)

[Princess <3]: I love you, always <3

[Princess <3]: Ps: I put a certain _lucky charm_ in your pocket ;) a little luck never hurts, does it? Love you.

Adrien put his hand in his jacket pocket, pulling out Marinette’s lucky charm, the one she had given him when they were still 13 years old. He smiled, squeezing it and putting it back in his pocket.

[Adrien]: You’re wonderful. I love you so much. Thank you for all the support, princess <3

Feeling refreshed and not so nervous anymore, Adrien entered the bank. His mother’s lawyer was already waiting for him in the hall. He was the same as Adrien remembers, but now his mustache was gray as well as his hair.

“Adrien!” He greeted, shaking Adrien’s hand and then giving him a shy hug. Adrien smiled, returning the hug.

“Mister Nolace! What a pleasure to see you again.”

“Jesus, kid, you're tall! Your mother would be so proud. I was surprised by your call. Why do you need the money now, after so many years since your father was arrested?”

Adrien smiled, feeling the familiar nervousness return.

“Why don’t I explain everything later, when we are alone? I want to use it on a project, but I’m waiting that some things will work out before I go public about it.”

“Okay, besides, it’s almost time for our meeting with the manager.” Nolace looked at his watch. “are you ready?”

 _No_.

“Yes.”

“Everything will be fine, boy,” he smiled, placing his hand on Adrien's shoulders. “Don’t worry.”

Adrien squeezed the lucky charm in his pocket and nodded, following him to the manager’s office.

The bank manager was a woman of about 50, elegant and with a warm smile. When they entered her office, after being announced by the secretary, she got up to greet them and indicated the chairs for them to sit on.

She sat across them and opened a folder, explaining about the documentation and the bank account. The amount there was (and Adrien had forgotten how much it was) and the conditions were necessary for him to have access to it.

“Even if the account was meant for your future, only your parents could have access to it, unless they passed it over to you after your eighteenth birthday. Something that didn’t happen, because unfortunately, your mother was missing. The account stayed with your father and only he could have access to it,” she explained and the lawyer nodded.

“Okay, but my client wants to have access to that account and its full value. Emilie, his mother and also my former client, made this account _for_ Adrien. Gabriel had access because of their marriage, but the money she deposited was only hers and for Adrien, only.”

“Well, unfortunately, Mr. Agreste came here a few months before…” she hesitated, giving Adrien a dull look. “Before the incident, because he knew that Adrien could come and ask for the money. And he changed the account access rules.”

Mr. Nolace looked first at Adrien, who shrugged as confused as he did and then at the manager.

“Isn’t the documentation enough to prove that my client is who he says?”

“In addition to the documentation, Gabriel Agreste demanded that Adrien prove that he had been married for at least a year and a half to have access to the money,” the manager said in a low voice.

“Wait, _what_?” Adrien and Nolace said at the same time.

“This is absurd, why this demand?" Nolace asked.

“He feared that Adrien would be persuaded or forced to withdraw money from that account. And if he were married, he would have access to the account and the money, as long as his wife agreed to it. The one and a half year period were to avoid blackmail.”

“And forcing him to be married for a year and a half to have access to the money that is rightfully his, is it not a kind of blackmail?” Nolace asked.

“I’m sorry, sir, but these are the requirements of the account owner. Only he can take the money and his heirs with this condition. Adrien needs to be married for this.”

Nolace shot a disappointed look at Adrien, who started to panic. He needed that money and make that donation, he knew he couldn’t stand to wait a year and a half. Furthermore, the Institute was in dire need of money, or it could close its doors. Who would guarantee it would be up and running in a year and a half? And that if Mari agreed to marry him tomorrow, which would never happen.

He needed to have access to that money _now_.

So, he did the only thing he could at that moment: he _lied_.

“I’m already married,” he said before he could understand what the fuck he was doing. The words came out of his mouth as easily as if they were already true. A lie, a _huge_ one, that could get him in trouble, had come out of his mouth.

Nolace and the manager looked in their direction, startled.

“Can you repeat, boy?” Nolace asked.

“I’m already married. We’re married for two years.”

“Adrien…” Nolace said quietly.

“We got married a month after my father was arrested. We kept it a secret, only our closest friends and her parents knew. An old friend of ours could get us married, so we went to him. My father doesn’t even know. The spotlight was already on me and Marinette because of my father’s arrest, we didn’t want them to be behind us again. We just wanted a little peace, so that's why we kept it quiet.”

“And you don’t have a ring?” the manager asked.

“I wear this ring,” he held up his right hand, showing the miraculous. “It’s kind of like a promise. We both promised that we would get married again when things were better for us. Marinette was working for my father and then the company closed and I lost most of my contracts because of my father’s bad fame,” he bit his lower lip. Why was lying so easy?

A lie. His marriage to Marinette, which he wanted most, was just a lie. A sweet lie, in fact, one of the sweetest lie he had ever told.

“Oh,” the manager was taken aback, but Nolace still looked hesitant. “Well, in that case, all you have to do is bring all the documents that prove your marriage and both of your identity documents. Once Gabriel Agreste’s requirements are proven, you will have free access to your bank account.”

They said goodbye to the manager and left the bank in silence, walking side by side. Adrien was a nervous wreck, especially from the way Mr. Nolace looked at him as if he knew exactly that he was lying about his relationship status.

When they left the bank, Nolace turned to him.

“Adrien, about your marriage. Do you have documentation that proves everything?”

“Yes,” he didn't, but he would find a way to do have it.

“Right. Some photos and witnesses would be good too, in case they claim the marriage certificate is fake. You have pictures, don’t you? Even if it was a private ceremony, I think you have.”

“Yes, we have,” again, he didn’t, and he drowned even more in a river of lies, but it would all be worth it in the end.

“And please, get rings for you and your wife. It’s more than time to you wear one,” he looked at his watch. “Speaking on time, I have to go. I still have one more customer to visit. We can arrange a coffee to chat and I can help you later, just call me when you have everything.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Nolace. I’ll get everything and call you. Thank you very much for all your help and support. I would be lost without you.”

“Anytime, son. It is a pleasure to help. Emilie was one of my favorite customers, a sweet person. Anyway, please contact me. Oh, Adrien, one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“That money… do you really need it? And it needs to be _now_? Is this a project that important?”

Adrien hesitated, but then thought of all the people her father had hurt. He thought of the times he saw the huge dark circles under Nino’s eyes, the result of the bad nights he had dreamed of being akumatized again. He thought about Alya telling him about how terrible it felt to be an akuma, even though she didn’t remember anything he did. He remembered all his friends who had been used by his father for evil, for his selfish purposes.

“Yes, Mr. Nolace. It’s really worth it.”

“Well, in that case, I hope you can get everything as quickly as possible. Call me when you want, okay? Say hello to your wife for me and have a nice day!”

Nolace walked towards the parking lot and Adrien felt his legs tremble even more.

Marinette.

Marinette would _kill_ him when she found out the confusion his lie had gotten them both.

She had to understand, after all, she had also told a lie. And her lie resulted in the two of them dating.

Who knows if his lie would result in her finally accepting to marry him?

Adrien went to the car and got in, closing the door. He buried his face in his hands, screaming, and finally took a deep breath.

“Okay, I need to calm down and solve the things. First, who can fake documents?”

“Master Fu,” Plagg commented, coming out of Adrien’s pocket. “He had to falsify many documents in those years running away with the miraculous box.”

“Plagg, you’re a genius!” Adrien smiled widely, taking out his cell phone.

“You know I’m doing this just for the fun, right?” The kwami commented, watching Adrien dial Fu’s number. His holder was so distracted that he didn’t even respond.

“Hi, Master Fu. Are you in the store? ”

“Adrien! Yes, I am.”

“I need a favor from you, but I can’t talk about it over the phone, can I visit you now?”

“Sure! Is it serious?”

“Let’s say yes,” he looked at his watch. He had two hours until Marinette was home, so he had time to sort out the mess he was in. “But nothing related to what you are thinking. It’s a favor I want to ask. Without Marinette knowing.”

“It looks important.”

“And it is. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Well, I’ll put the water to boil for some tea and I’ll be waiting.”

“Thank you, Master Fu. See you later,” and saying that, he hung up the phone.

“You know you’re getting into a big mess. Marinette is going to kill you,” Plagg said.

“Please, Plagg. You don’t need to remind me,” he grunted, starting the car.

“Well, the funeral is yours,” he shrugged and sat in the passenger seat. “Don’t forget my camembert you promised earlier.”

Adrien tightened the wheel even more, praying his plan would work, as he drives to the market.

*

When he came into the house an hour and a half later, the smell of cheese filled his nose. A tastier cheese than the one he carried in his hand.

Adrien deposited the bag on the counter and Plagg flew towards it immediately.

“My lady?” Adrien asked, taking off his coat and putting it in the closet.

“In the kitchen!” she shouted and he went to her.

Marinette was standing in the middle of the kitchen, dancing excitedly in front of the oven while setting the timer. She was barefoot, with her long hair tied up in the pigtails and still wearing the clothes she wore for work. There was an open bottle of wine on the counter with a half-full glass and some things to set up a table on the side.

“Hi, _mon chaton_!” She said, approaching him and standing on tiptoe to kiss him. He hugged her tightly, kissing her hard and feeling her laugh in the kiss. “Someone seems excited.”

“I missed you. What are you doing here? You should be at work, right?”

“I closed the store a little earlier so that I could make a decent dinner for us. To celebrate, maybe…?” She said smiling hopefully.

“Marinette…” he started but she silenced him with her finger against his mouth.

“It was only an hour, love. It’s not like I’m going to become a millionaire in this hour,” she tapped her index finger on his nose.

“But, my lady...”

“I missed you too,” she held his cheeks and kissed him again. “Go be comfortable, I made mac and cheese, your favorite. And then you can tell me about your day.”

He felt the accumulated emotions of the day in his throat and before he knew it, the tears started to escape.

“Adrien?” She asked in alarm when he hugged her tightly but returned the hug with the same intensity. “What is, my kitty?”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve someone as loving and sweet as you.”

“Just because I made mac and cheese?” She teased but pushed him away to dry his tears.

He shook his head, taking her wrists and kissing each one before he leaned down and kissed her on the mouth again. Finally, he broke the kiss and kept his forehead against hers.

“You care so much for me, my lady,” he whispered.

“It is because you are my partner. My _chaton_ and my love,” she said caressing his face. “My sweet and amazing _chaton_.”

“I need to tell you something,” he finally said. It was now or never. It was like pulling out a band-aid. He had to do it fast and while he still had the courage or he couldn’t do it.

Marinette would hate him for that, but…

“What’s it?”

“You need to trust me, okay, my lady?”

“Ok…” she said without hesitation. “What happened? What did you do?”

“We’ve been married for almost two years, okay?”

“ _WHAT_?!”

“You and I… we’re married, my lady.”

“Ah,” she blinked and then put her hand on the kitchen counter. “Adrien, I think I’m going to pass out.”

If it hadn’t been for the years of being Chat Noir and his feline reflection, he wouldn’t have been able to catch Marinette in his arms before she fainted on the floor.

“Marinette!” He pleaded, brushing her hair away. “Not again!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on Tumblr: lalunaoscura.tumblr.com


	3. Day 3: Flowers

“I thought we were over it.,” Adrien commented, trying to keep his voice light when he was almost dying inside. Marinette was lying on the sofa, a cloth with alcohol in her hands, who smiled.

She was still pale, but some color had returned to her lips, much to Adrien’s relief. He leaned on the couch, placing his head on her chest, feeling infinitely better when she started stroking his hair.

“I’m sorry if I scared you. But hearing the words ‘we’re married’ out of nowhere is very… unexpected,” she said at last.

He turned his face so he could look at her and bit his bottom lip. She was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, certainly waiting for him to explain what hell happened.

Taking a deep breath, he sat up and pushed his hair back, scratching his neck as he thought about how to tell her the confusion he had gotten them both into. He had no idea and was thinking of saying it was just a joke – and trying to fake her signature on the certificate that Fu had obtained – but he knew it was better to say it soon.

He then explained the whole situation to her. About the requirements for him to have access to his bank account, and how that donation meant so much to him, a way to help the city and the people his father had so tormented for so many times.

“ _Chaton_ …” she sat up and kissed his face, making him look at her. “You helped this town every day with this,” she held his ring.

“I know, but I want to do _more_.”

She took a deep breath, resting her forehead on his shoulder.

“Adrien, you are lying about us being married.”

“Well, you lied about us dating,” he said, playfully.

She looked up, smiling sheepishly.

“It was to hide my secret identity. And dating is not as serious as a marriage. Dating can end without having to involve a court. Not a wedding.”

“It’s just a fake wedding.”

“What if they find out that you forged a document? Adrien, this can result in jail.”

“I know, Marinette,” he said, his tone suddenly serious. “I know very well what problems I am getting ourselves into. And you don’t have to participate if you don’t want to, I will think about other ways. It will be difficult, but I think about something. Or you can help me,” he pouted.

“You are asking me to break the law, Adrien.”

“As if you haven’t done this many times already!” He rose from the couch and she threw a pillow at him. “What the _fuck_?!”

“You said you would never talk about my cell phone thefts when I was young!” She said angrily. Adrien looked at her for half a second and started laughing. “What?”

“You are beautiful.”

“Oh,” she blushed so much that the redness went down her neck. “Don’t change the subject! Do you really want to make this donation? Do you want it to the point of breaking the law for that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because… it’s a way for me to apologize to all the people hurt by my father’s mistakes. And I know what you’re going to say, that my father’s mistakes are not my mistakes, that I’ve helped Paris a lot since I’m Chat Noir, and that I don’t need to donate but I keep thinking about Nino, Alya, Chloé and Kagami and all of our friends who were hurt because of my father. I think of Auguste and the little boy who was Sandboy and all the other kids he akumatized,” he took a deep breath, feeling the cry in his throat. “I want to do something for them. Not for my dad, I want him to go to hell. But the people he hurt? I want them to be able to be normal. To overcome this. Let them live as if my father hadn’t ruined their lives like he ruined _mine_ for years.”

“Oh, Adrien…” she said, walking over to him and hugging him tightly while he cried. He was so fragile that he lost the strength to support his body, so the two knelt on the floor and stayed in that position, with Marinette hugging him tightly, trying to take all the pain away, while he cried.

A few minutes later, however, they smelled something burning and practically ran to the kitchen. The macaroni and cheese she had made was burning in the oven, and when Adrien took it out, filling the apartment with the bad smell as he deposited the pan with what had once been their dinner on their table, Marinette whined.

“So… sushi?” Adrien offered.

“Yeah.”

*

The sushi they ordered arrived and they sat on the living room rug, with the bottle of wine and the food. A movie was playing in the background, but Marinette wasn’t paying attention, more concerned about Adrien.

She had never seen him so shaken since he begged her to move in with him, two days after they discovered that Papillon was Gabriel Agreste. The trial hadn’t even started yet, Gabriel was on remand, but all assets had already been confiscated, except for Emilie’s house (which they now lived in) and some assets that belonged to her before she got married and that she had left for Adrien.

Then Chat knocked on the balcony door of her apartment, completely soaked in the rain, at three in the morning, crying to the point of sobbing and begging her to move in with him, because he no longer wanted to be alone.

That was why, the next day, while he was still sleeping in her bed, Marinette called the landlord of the apartment where she lived and said she would move. Two days later, all of her things were already at Adrien’s house and they made that place home.

It wasn’t as big as the Mansion, but Adrien seemed infinitely happier. And Marinette was determined to make him happy in a way that he had never been in that Mansion.

That’s why she swallowed the sushi she was eating and turned to Adrien.

“Yes.”

“What?” He said with his mouth full of nigirizushi.

“I accept to marry you. We will use this money for the donation.”

He dropped the chopstick, dropping it on the carpet, and threw himself on top of her. Marinette called out his name, half amused and half furious, as he filled her with kisses. Finally, he brushed the hair from her face and kissed her on the tip of the nose, reaching down to her mouth and giving her a long, hot kiss, which made her shiver from head to toe.

“I love you _so_ much.”

“I hope so, _chaton_ because you want to marry me. Fake marry me, but still.”

“I want to marry you for real too,” he said, kissing her neck. “But for now, fake marriage is enough.”

“You are a dork!”

“Your dork. Until death does us part, my lady,” he looked at her, smiling like an innocent boy and Marinette’s heart began to beat so fast that her chest hurt.”

She curled his hair around her fingers and rose to kiss him.

“ _My_ dork.”

*

The screeching noise of Adrien’s cell phone alarm was what woke Marinette the next day. Sleepy, she reached out to find her cell phone and see what time it was.

However, before she could reach it, a hand took hers and she felt a kiss, first on her hand and then on her forehead.

“It’s still too early for you. I have a job this early, but you can still get some more sleep. I checked your cell phone, your alarm clock is activated.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled sleepily and Adrien kissed her forehead again. She heard and felt him get out of bed, but even before she heard the shower, she was asleep again.

She woke up sometime later, this time with claws sliding gently in her arms. She shifted, burying herself further into the covers. Her alarm clock hadn’t gone off, she still had some time left, and that almost real sleep wouldn’t wake her up in the few minutes? hours? of sleep she still had.

“Princess,” the voice purred and this time a gloved hand caressed her arm. “Come on, princess, it’s time to wake up.”

“No… too soon,” she murmured.

“Come on, princess. This _chat_ has a surprise for you.”

 _Chat_?

She opened her eyes at once, turning and facing Adrien – Chat Noir – on the bed, smirking at her while continuing to stroke her arm.

“Hello, Princess.”

“Why are you transformed?” She asked, sitting up. Since they had defeated Papillon, the two didn’t transform unless they missed the patrols, some event they were invited to or when they (actually, she) were too late to deal with traffic jam. The last time Adrien had been transformed was two months ago for a charity event at a hospital.

“I have a surprise, but you need to come with me.”

“I have to work–”

“I know that, so I woke you up a little earlier. Come on, my lady, please?” He asked, pouting.

Sighing, she sat up and scratched her eyes.

“I’m just going to wash my face, okay?”

“I’ll be waiting for you,” he looked like a child on Christmas Eve and she immediately felt bad about thinking about work first. She didn't know what was waiting for her, but Adrien was excited.

She went to the bathroom and washed her face. If he was transformed, they were going to a place where civilians couldn’t reach, so she didn’t bother to change her clothes. She transformed into the bathroom and went back to the bedroom, where Chat was waiting for her in the middle of the room.

“I’m ready,” she said, still a little nervous.

“Follow me then, my lady,” he smiled, took his baton and winked at her before walking out the balcony door.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, smiling, pulling the yo-yo and following her _chaton_ towards what he wanted to show her so badly.

They finally landed on a roof and she looked around, seeing that it was an ordinary roof.

“What…?” She started to ask, turning to him, who was holding a black ribbon and smiling at her.

“It’s a surprise, I couldn’t let you see it so soon, could I?”

“Chat, love…”

“I’m going to carry you,” he said, already knowing what she was going to say. “So…?”

She sighed, turning around so he could blindfold her. He tied the ribbon tightly and then she felt him move until he was in front of her. With his help, she climbed onto his back, holding on tight.

“I like this,” she said in his ear as she felt the wind as he ran.

“What?”

“This position. You carried me like this several times when I slept in front of my sewing machine. I like when you take care of me. I feel loved. I feel protected.”

He took her hand and kissed it.

“It’s because you are loved.”

She felt her throat lock with emotion and kissed the back of his neck since it was the only place she could reach.

“Princess, control those kisses or you’ll be late for work like me yesterday.”

She laughed, behaving – for now.

*

They arrived at the rooftop he had prepared earlier, anxious about her reaction. He really hoped that she would like what he had done for her.

When he woke up much earlier than he used to wake up, he saw her sleeping clinging to him, so tight that he almost couldn’t break free to get water. As he watched her sleep, she whispered his name with such love and affection that if he ever doubted that she was the woman of his life, those doubts had been resolved at that moment.

He wanted to marry her – and he wanted her to want to marry him too.

Cautiously, he undid the loop behind her head, pulling on the ribbon. He kept his gaze on her face, waiting for her reaction to see what he had done.

Her eyes filled with tears as she raised her hands to her mouth in disbelief.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Did you… did you do it all while I slept?” She asked incredulously, looking at him with a wide smile on her lips.

“Tikki helped me,” he said, smiling. “Did you like it?”

“Did I like it? I _loved_ it!” She said, walking over to the table he had decorated. Chat had chosen that roof precisely because of the tables there. The building’s roof was a restaurant that only opened at night, so Chat hoped they wouldn’t be bothered by the loan since he wasn’t bothering anyone.

He had set up the table and also decorated it with colorful flowers, filling the place with colors, the way Marinette loved it. He had placed as many flowers as possible.

“Did you make breakfast?” She said delightedly, stroking the picnic basket he had brought earlier. “Oh, Adrien!” She turned to him and hugged him. He smiled, hugging her back.

“It is the least I could do for you after you agreed to break the law because of me.”

“Hey,” she looked up so she could look at him. “I will support you in every decision you make. I know how important the donation is to you, so count on me. Where’s the paper for me to sign?”

“Why don’t we have coffee first?” He said, playing with her ponytail.

“Okay. Tikki, _destr_ –”

Before she could complete the sentence, he kissed her. Ladybug returned the kiss, a little confused at first, but melting completely when he pulled her around the waist closer to him.

Chat broke the kiss, trailing kisses down her neck, nibbling her skin. She sighed, curling her fingers in his already messy hair. He kissed her mouth again, lingering, smelling her, feeling the heat of her body against his, of her presence there, with him.

When they were both drunk from kisses and the moment, he broke the kiss and kept his forehead against hers, looking at her face, the blush on her cheeks, the silly smile on her lips, her blue eyes shining with so much love and affection.

He was the _luckiest_ cat in the world.

“Not that I’m complaining, but why...?”

“Don’t transform back. I think Ladynoir needs a decent date. It’s been a while since we’ve given our fans inspiring content for fanfics.”

“I thought you stopped reading fanfics?” She joked.

“You know, every now and then we take a look at what we have.”

She laughed, nodding as the two went hand in hand to the table. He pulled out the chair for her to sit, and they both had a wonderful breakfast. Marinette told about the opportunity to work at a fashion show that she had received and Adrien supported with all his vigor that she should participate, and he talked about the last photo sessions and how Nino and he had arranged a video game session for the next weekend.

“Speaking of Nino,” he said, wiping his mouth with his napkin. “We need to tell them.”

Ladybug groaned, finishing chewing what she was eating.

“What?” Chat asked, confused.

“Alya is going to want to kill me because she will think I hid this secret from her. But you’re wight. We need to tell them soon.”

“Do you think you can sneak out at lunch? We can ask if they want to have lunch with us and tell them. In a public place, full of people and witnesses in case they want to kill us.”

Ladybug laughed, nodding.

“We can’t take long, though. I need to select the clothes that I will make for the fashion show.” she rested on the chair, uneasy. ‘It’s going to be busy weeks.”

“And we still need to find a day to do a photoshoot. Do you think Nino can photograph?”

“If Alya didn’t kill us first, I think so,” then she moaned and Chat looked at her, confused. “My parents, Adrien. My parents are going to freak out because we hide it from them.”

Chat looked at her and felt guilt burning in the pit of his stomach. He shouldn’t have done that, he shouldn’t have let his impulses speak louder and put them both in that mess. He should have agreed with the manager and tried to convince Marinette to get married to him as soon as possible.

If the Institute closed its doors he could find other non-governmental organizations that he could help in the future. Yes, he really wanted to help the Institute and they were dealing with problems that could cause them to close their doors, but was that lie worth it? Getting him in trouble, he could handle.

Now to put Marinette in problematic situations just because he couldn’t control himself?

"We don’t have to do that, you know,” he said sweetly, looking at her. Ladybug frowned, confused. “Lying and pretending to be married. We don’t have to do that. I know it’s against the law and it will get you into many uncomfortable situations and–”

“Hey,” she said, rising from her chair and sitting on his lap, her legs to the side. Chat immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and she lifted his face, causing him to face her. “I already agreed with that and the idea is excellent. It may be a crazy plan, yes, but we are great with crazy plans. Just remember most of our fights against akumas.”

“True,” he laughed and gave her a peck. “But, Mari, if you want to give up, we can.”

“I won’t give up, I promise. I’m with you until the end. Even because I don’t think we’re going to survive today,” she laughed, pressing her nose against his. “First, fake dating, and now, fake marriage. How do we get into these problems, _chaton_? What is the next step? Fake pregnancy?”

His heart raced so fast that he thought she was able to hear. Why was he suddenly nervous? What if she didn’t want to? What if she hated it? And if she thought it was too much, that he shouldn’t have bought _that_ and…

it was just to make everything official.

But what if she didn’t want to? Or thought it was too much, that he was confusing things? Chat grimaced and then put his hand on her face, suddenly looking serious.

“I… I want to ask you a question. Actually, a request.”

“Hm, you got serious all of a sudden,” she said, playing with his hair.

"You have every right to say no,” he swallowed and saw her expression become concerned. “We’re going to pretend we’re married, right?”

“Yes…”

“So, we’re going to have to use wedding rings. At least for the photoshoot and... and you have to have an engagement ring, at least. I said that we didn’t use rings because of the paparazzi at that time and that my miraculous was a guarantee. So, I thought… that at least I should have given you an engagement ring, right?”

“Yes. Chat, is what I think...?”

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” he hurried to guarantee before she started to panic. With shaking hands, he took the little box out of his suit pocket and opened it, showing it to her. “It’s an engagement ring, the simplest I could find.”

“It doesn’t seem that simple.”

“Jewelry is never _that_ simple,” he joked and she rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to propose to you yet, because I don’t want our marriage proposal to be in the middle of this mess. I really want to marry you and you know it, but I will make the greatest marriage proposal, I promise.”

“A proposal that will make me cry?” She asked, putting her head on his shoulder and taking the box from him.

“That’s the intention.”

“If you are not going to propose to me now, what is your request?”

“Can you wear the engagement ring on your right hand, as a promise that we will be married soon?” He kissed her cheek.

“Yes,” she said, returning the box to him. Chat took the ring inside, a delicate silver ring with a green stone, and placed it on her finger. Ladybug cuddled up to Chat’s chest, her hand raised for them to see the ring.

“It looks beautiful on you,” he commented, stroking her thumb with her arm.

“Yes. It suits me a lot. Thank you, _mon chaton_.”

“You’re welcome, my Princess.”

She placed the box on the table, turned on his lap and held his face with both hands. Gently, she kissed each of his eyes, lingering on the affection. Then, at the tip of the nose. On his chin, on his forehead, and finally on his mouth.

He sighed against the kiss, opening his mouth and letting her tongue touch his, timidly at first, hungry afterward. She spread her hands on his chest, shuddering when his hand, which was at the base of her spine, went up all over her back until he held her neck, squeezing it gently.

“I love you,” she murmured, breathlessly, and returned to kiss him.

“I love you so much,” he replied, breaking the kiss just for that before returning to kiss her.

“Until the end, _chaton_.”

“Forever and ever, _my lady_.”

*

Lunch with Alya and Nino had been... something.

Everything was cool, they were talking about plans for the weekend when Adrien and Marinette exchanged looks. It was now or never.

“We need to tell you something,” Adrien started and friends looked at her, Nino curious and Alya leaning on the table.

“Did you guys finally have sex?”

“Alya?!” Marinette spat the water, coughing. Adrien slapped her lightly on the back, trying to help her. “You know we have had an active sex life for a long time,” she blushed.

“Ah, you two are so innocent that sometimes I forget. Although the times we caught you, we were shocked.”

“Why are we friends with you?” Adrien asked and Alya and Nino laughed.

“Okay, okay. What do you want to tell us, all of a sudden?”

“Marinette and I got married two years ago.”

“When I moved in with Adrien… it was because I married him. I told you that I needed to live with him, but I never told you why. Now you know.”

“Oh,” Alya said, placing the fork on the table. Both she and Nino were too serious and silent and Marinette began to feel fear in the pit of her stomach.

“Please say something,” Marinette begged.

Alya looked at Nino and sighed. She took her bag and Marinette leaned over, prepared to hold her.

“Alya.”

Alya didn’t answer it, instead, she took out her purse and took out her wallet. Marinette started to get desperate, afraid that Alya would be so angry with her that she wouldn’t even finish the meal.

“Hey, Alya,” Adrien said, but both he and Marinette were silent when Alya handed Nino a hundred euros, who opened his wallet and put it inside. As if the friends hadn’t thrown a bombshell in their lap, the couple went back to lunch as if nothing had happened.

“What the fuck was that?” Marinette asked.

“What?” Nino asked confused.

“What happened now?”

“It’s just me paying Nino. I lost the bet.” Alya wiped her mouth with her napkin.

“Bet? What bet?”

“Nino bet a hundred euros that the two of you were already married.”

“Because you do act like a married couple,” Nino explained.

“But I told him it was crazy because I thought our best friends would have told us if they were married.” Alya shrugged and Marinette felt like she was punched in the stomach.

“Alya, look, I–” Marinette started, feeling tears in her eyes.

“I understand why you got married. It was after your father was arrested, Adrien, and I understand that it was a way that you two found to establish the relationship and help each other, but, I expected you to tell us, you know?”

She felt Adrien tensing and her heart lost its beat. She hated seeing that expression on Alya, her friend pretending it was okay when she wasn’t. Marinette bit her bottom lip, looking at Adrien, who looked as desperate and sad as she was – in fact, even sadder and more desperate than she was since he had told the lie in the first place.

“We are really sorry, Alya. And I know that apologizing isn’t going to make you forgive us that easy, but it’s all my fault,” Adrien said and felt Marinette pinch his hand under the table, but ignored her. “I was the one who convinced Marinette not to tell, it was a decision that we made suddenly, at dawn after I had a panic attack. An old friend of ours married us in the middle of the night and I asked Mari not to tell anyone, as we were going to have a wedding soon, but we ended up postponing it. If anything, we’re sorry. For real.”

“So why are you telling us now?”

He looked in the direction of Mari, who nodded, and then looking at Nino and Alya, told about the bank account, how to access it and what he intended to do with the money. Finally, he asked the favor for Nino and Alya, who agreed immediately.

“We are still a little disappointed that you didn’t tell us about the wedding, but what you’re doing is something noble, man. I already had help from the Institute, and Nora too,” Nino said, turning to Alya. “So?”

Alya sighed, took a notebook from her purse and placed it on the table.

“Time to work, then.”

*

After finishing all the details and saying goodbye to her friends, Adrien and Marinette said goodbye with the promise that Adrien would pick her up after work so they could go to her parents’ house for the second part of the lie.

Marinette always hated lying to her parents, and during her years as Ladybug, she had made up more lies than she would like to admit. She always felt awful because she never told her parents that behind that heroin’s polka dot mask was their daughter.

She always thought that when it was over, she would tell them. It was all over and yet, she never told. And now, she was about to tell a huge lie, make up a story about one of the most important moments in her life – a marriage.

Their parents filled them with kisses and hugs and were so excited by their visit that it made the bad feeling in Marinette’s stomach only increase.

“You got just in the perfect time, we’re making dinner.”

“Oh, mom, we aren’t going to have dinner here.”

“What nonsense, my daughter. There’s plenty of food, don’t worry!”

“Hm, actually, Adrien and I have something to tell you both.”

“Why are you so serious? Did something happen?” Tom asked, taking a seat across from them.

Adrien put a hand on Marinette’s knee, giving a squeeze to encourage her. After swallowing a few times and praying that her parents wouldn’t want to scold them, she looked up.

“Please listen to us befo–”

“You are pregnant,” Sabine and Tom said at the same time, the tone of voice not delivering how they felt.

“What?!”

“Did you get my _baby girl_ pregnant?!” Tom turned to Adrien, suddenly angry. “Without married her?”

“I– I–” Adrien stuttered.

“Dad, I’m not–”

“Oh, my God!” Sabine said, raising her hands to her mouth. “I taught you so well about how to prevent pregnancy, my dear.”

“I’m not preg–”

“Marinette isn’t preg–”

“We need to prepare everything for the baby.”

“We’re going to be grandparents, Tom!” Sabine said excitedly, holding Tom’s arm as she smiled through tears. “Grandparents!”

“I’M NOT PREGNANT.” Marinette stood up and screamed, making everyone jump.

“You… you aren’t pregnant?” Sabine asked. “Why did you let us believe you were?”

“I didn’t. You concluded this on your own. Adrien and I are not expecting a baby. At least not _yet_.”

“We thought that was it, you were so serious.”

“It’s because what we want to tell is serious. Mom, Dad… When I moved in with Adrien, you two asked why the rush suddenly.”

“Yes. You just told us that Adrien needed you, which was true. And you did a great job, my dear,” Tom said and Adrien smiled at him, eliciting a smile from Marinette, despite her nervousness.

“But I never told you why Adrien needed me. And I think we need to say it now,” she swallowed. “Adrien and I got married the night before I move. That’s why I went to live with him so suddenly.”

Silence dominated the house, but in the end, Sabine and Tom just shrugged.

“We already knew that it’s nothing new.”

“What?! But, but… _how_?” Adrien asked.

“Oh, you two act like a married couple since the beginning and suddenly Marinette becomes desperate to live with Adrien, without telling us the reason? It was because she had done something crazy and wasn’t ready to tell us yet.”

“Just like you did when you started dating. You had been together for months and took some time to tell us.” Tom laughed.

“It’s okay, my dear. You and Adrien love each other and the level of love and trust between the two of you is inexplicable. It’s as if you complete each other – Yin and Yang. We hoped that it would happen eventually. And don’t worry, we’re not upset,” Sabine got up and went over to them, kissing the top of their head. “You don’t need a giant ceremony and decorations, cakes and party to let everyone know you love each other. One look at the two of you is enough and anyone can see that.”

Marinette, holding back her tears, looked at Adrien and he was crying with a smile on his face. Her chest was filled with joy and she took his hand, smiling. He smiled back and Sabine sighed.

“Now, how about we have dinner to celebrate your wedding?”

*

When they got home, the two threw themselves on the sofa, without strength to do anything, the emotions of the day finally sinking. Adrien rested his head on Marinette’s and took a deep breath.

“It wasn’t as bad as you imagined!” Tikki commented, leaving Marinette’s bag and flying to the coffee table. Plagg soon joined her, holding a piece of camembert that he certainly took from the fridge.

“Unfortunately,” Plagg bit the camembert.

“Plagg!” Tikki scolded him and the two kwamis started muttering to each other. Marinette groaned, sliding across the couch until she stopped with her head on Adrien’s lap, who started stroking her hair.

“Can we make a deal?” She asked and Adrien murmured, agreeing. “No more lies about our relationship status, okay? We always get into trouble.”

Adrien laughed, leaning down to kiss her.

“Deal.”


	4. Day 4: Your Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Sunday and my back is killing me since Friday, but at least I finished this!
> 
> Leave a comment, tell me what you're thinking about it. I read all of them and I'll reply soon, I just need to find time... *sigh*
> 
> <3
> 
> if you want to Marinette's look for the "wedding", here is the link:  
> https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/630845117716103170/674965024673890304/rBVaSlt1IXeAFvT5AADeWucezH0295.png?width=473&height=473

Sometimes, Adrien questioned his choices. One of them was why he thought it was a good idea to visit his father in jail when he had never done – when he never _wanted_ to go.

He didn’t tell anyone that he was going to see his father because they would ask why and Adrien didn’t have an answer. He didn’t know why he was going, why when he woke up he thought about visiting his father, and why he was there.

But he was.

He moved his leg anxiously, wondering if he should leave. He put his hands in his coat pocket, stroking Plagg so he could calm down. His kwami must have felt how nervous he was because he curled his tail around Adrien's finger and started purring.

Adrien felt infinitely better after that.

He stared at the glass that separated him from where his father would be. Since he was considered a terrorist, Gabriel Agreste wasn’t allowed to have contact with anyone, any type of communication was monitored and over the phone.

Not that Adrien wanted to hug his father, but it was still unsettling.

He was really waiting for a cop to come over and say that Gabriel didn’t want to see him. Deep inside, Adrien expected this. But then, by some miracle, Gabriel Agreste appeared and sat across from him.

Adrien tried to contain the shock because, after two years, his father didn’t look like himself. The “duck” hair that Marinette kept calling was short, tousled, the color not so much brighter now. He looked thinner and hunchbacked.

But what scared Adrien was the lack of life in Gabriel’s eyes. His father looked at him seriously, without expressing any reaction, as he picked up the phone.

“Finally you remembered the man whose name you carry,” he greeted before Adrien had a chance to say anything.

Adrien was Chat Noir, he had fought several akumas, Reverser had taken his courage because it was what he had the strongest, but there… there he felt like the 13-year-old Adrien, alone, sad and wanting that his father didn’t look at him with that anger and disgust.

“Hi, father. It’s… good to see you.”

“What do you want, Adrien? After you took everything from me and threw me into this hell?”

“I didn’t throw you here,” he said in a shaky voice. “ _You_ did it.”

“You and Marinette threw me here. If I had known, I would never have allowed you to date. Were you all the time devising a way to throw me here to keep everything that was mine? My company, my money, _MY EMILIE_!” He shouted and Adrien cringed, feeling the cry in his throat.

He was an adult, but he felt more and more like a child.

“What would people say if they knew _your_ secrets, Adrien? You always want to be the good citizen, the _hero_. And now, do you want to take my money to ‘help’ that Institute, help akumas? Help the enemies you fought and hurt?”

_Wait, how did he know?_

“I didn’t hurt them! _You_ were the one that hurt them!”

“No, Adrien. I gave them what they wanted most. I gave each of them the power to do what they wanted, I gave them the freedom that you and that little thing you call ‘my lady’ took from me! I always felt, I always knew she wasn’t enough for you! She used you to hit me and take everything that was mine. You and she are stealing from me!”

“Shut up,” Adrien growled furiously.

“She doesn’t love you, Adrien. She just wants your money. She only agreed to participate in this nonsense to have access to the money. Because if she loved you, why would you need to lie? If she loved you like you keep saying, why hasn’t she married you _yet_?”

He felt his whole body shake.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng never loved you, Adrien. And she never will. And you will be forever alone because you chose your girlfriend over your own parents. You let your mother die and threw your father in prison for a _girl_.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Adrien shouted.

“And she’ll take your money and leave you too. You aren’t enough for her, Adrien. That’s why she doesn’t want to marry you. That’s why she will never marry you.”

“She loves me. And you don’t know anything because you never knew what love is.”

“If she really loves you, Adrien, why doesn’t she want to marry you?”

Adrien was silent since he had no answer.

“Alone and abandoned like me, Adrien. This is your destiny. If I were you, I would start to accept it, _Chat Noir_.”

Adrien opened his eyes at once and the darkness surrounded him. He was shaking and sweating and his heart was beating so fast. His throat was dry and he bet that the wetness that ran down his cheeks was not just sweat, but tears as well.

He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself and reached out, feeling Marinette’s side on the bed empty. The sheet was cold as if she had been out of bed for a long time.

“Marinette?” He called, his voice so fragile. Still shaking, he threw the blanket aside. “My lady?” This time, he pleaded.

No reply.

He whimpered, rising from the bed and decided to go after the water to see if he could calm down. Where was Marinette? It was two in the morning, according to the clock on the nightstand. Was she in the office working?

He went to her office and turned on the light, finding the place empty too. Concern began to fill his chest. Where was she so late at night?

With the nightmare still haunting him, Adrien went back to the room to wake up Plagg and transform into Chat so he could go look for Marinette. He walked over to the little nest that Marinette had made for the kwamis when he heard Marinette call his name.

He turned, seeing Ladybug closing the balcony door, smiling with concern.

“ _Chaton_?” She said worriedly when she looked into his face and saw the red eyes and the trail of tears. “Did something happen, love?”

“Just a nightmare. I dreamed that I had visited my father and he told me that I would always be alone and–”

“Oh, my love,” Ladybug threw herself against him, hugging him tightly. He sobbed, hugging her tightly as the crying returned. “I’m here now. And I will always be here. You will never be alone, I promise.”

“I woke up and you weren’t here, I was so scared that you were gone and…” he took a deep breath, feeling her body heat against his and starting to calm down. Ladybug picked him up, carrying him to the bed.

She placed him on the bed and knelt on the mattress, approaching him. She looked so worried and regretful that Adrien took her hand and placed it on his face, feeling the warmth of her palm against his cheek.

“I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to disturb you,” she said, pushing Adrien’s sweaty hair out of his eyes with her other hand. “You were sleeping so well, it didn’t even look like you were having a nightmare. And I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“Are you okay?”

“Isn’t you that we should worry about?” She said sweetly, climbing onto his lap and kissing him on the forehead.

“Taking care of you makes me feel better.”

“Yes, but now I want to take care of you.”

“Ladybug taking care of this poor mortal? I feel honored.”

She rolled her eyes, laughing.

“My _chaton_ , you are not a mere mortal. You’re the sweetest and kindest person I know in the world. You’re attentive, selfless, friend, faithful. Beautiful, you have an amazing ass and… okay, okay, I’m kidding!” She added when she heard him moan in shame. “I am the luckiest woman to have an amazing man like you by my side.”

She knelt between his legs and held his face, leaning back so she could look at him from above. With a smirk worthy of her partner’s alter ego, Ladybug leaned over to kiss him.

Adrien sighed, placing his hands on her hips, returning the kiss and feeling all the love and affection that Ladybug placed on it. He wanted to understand how he could believe what his father had said in that nightmare. Marinette loved him and she would never leave him alone. She had already shown how strong they were together, and how they always wanted to be next to each other, no matter what.

“Ladybug,” he whispered when she broke the kiss. “Marinette, you want to marry me one day, right?”

“Of course! I love you, my Adrien, and I want to marry you, but not because of money or fame. I want to marry you so we can start our own family.”

“So why don’t we get married now? Why we have to wait? Why we need to lie about being married when we can _really_ get married?”

She hesitated, biting her lower lip as she sat on her legs, embarrassed. She looked so small that Adrien didn’t know what to do. He took her chin in his hand and lifted her face.

“Why not, my lady?”

“You will find it silly.”

“I won’t. I just want to understand.”

“I… I want my store to grow a little bit more. To the point that I can be able to hire more employees and make my own schedule. I’m practically living to make that store grow and I don’t want to marry you and start our family now if I’m not going to have time for you and our kids. I want to have time for each of you, so I can see their first steps, their first words. Take them to school, to the extra classes, be there for them. And I want to have time for you. Go to dates, to watch movies in your days off, to help you shave. Be here when you wake up from nightmares, she stroked his face. “I want to be your family, Adrien. I want to show you what it’s like to have a loving and present family. You have spent years living neglected by your father, your only relative. And I promised myself that I would never allow you to feel what you felt in that place.”

He gasped and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. Marinette hugged him with the same intensity, burying her face in his neck and pressing him against her, feeling someone tremble (probably both).

“Can... can you sing for me to sleep?” He asked. “Your voice soothes me.”

“Sure.”

That night, Marinette kept Adrien in her arms all night, singing and playing with his hair, watching him sleep. She hated to see that pain in him, that fear of being abandoned and left alone.

And she promised that she would never, ever, allow him to feel that sensation again.

*

The weekend came much faster than they expected, and with it, the photoshoot they had set up with Nino, Alya and Marinette’s parents. Master Fu would also participate, disguised.

The idea was to do a photoshoot imitating the simple wedding ceremony. Nino took all his photographic equipment and they traveled to Alya’s aunt’s country house. In the suitcases, supplies for the day and the necessary clothes and makeup.

In Adrien’s suitcase, all of this plus the wedding rings they would use for the photos, the rings that one day he hoped Marinette would want to wear. Also, an old suit that Marinette asked him to take for some reason.

When they arrived, they had lunch and it was incredible. Marinette noticed how calm and relaxed Adrien looked, his laughter was sincere and he appeared calm. The nightmare had terrified him and made her worried but she was relieved to see it better.

“So, I know that the wedding was very intimate, but at least one picture you took that day, right? So we can have more or less an idea of how you were so I can edit the photos.” Nino asked.

“We don’t–” Adrien started.

“I do,” Marinette said, taking the phone out of her pocket and handing it to Nino. She felt Adrien look confused at her but kept her posture.

Nino looked at the photo for a few minutes and nodded.

“I can work with that. Send me the picture, please?”

“Of course,” she said, forwarding the photo to Nino. Their friend got up and left the table to go to Alya and as soon as Adrien noticed they were alone, he turned to Marinette.

“What photo did you show him?”

She opened the photo and handed the phone to Adrien, watching his expression become bittersweet. Master Fu had taken the photo in the night they had defeated Papillon.

That night, Adrien and Marinette went to an event for Gabriel on behalf of their father when an akuma attacked. On the way to the event, they had to transform and go to fight akuma.

They just didn’t expect that attack would take them to Papillon’s lair and the villain’s identity discovery and defeat. Tired, both physically and emotionally, Adrien and Marinette went to Master Fu to return the miraculous of the butterfly where it belonged.

While Fu made sure Nooroo was fine, the two sat on the floor in the corner of his studio. Adrien leaned his back against the wall and Marinette sat on his lap, her head on his chest while he hugged her.

They slept like that and Fu had taken a picture when he went to wake them up and sent it to Marinette, but she had never shown the photo to Adrien due to the memories that photo brought, but it was one of her favorite photos.

Because in the photo it was clear how much they loved and trusted each other and how they always searched for each other in the most difficult moments.

“Oh, is that why you asked me to come with that suit?”

“Yes. Also, you can’t see our hands, so they can’t say that we weren’t using our wedding rings.”

“You are incredible, my lady.”

“I hope this works,” she scratched her eyes. “Okay, I think we better get ready to take the pictures before the lighting gets bad and Nino wants to kill us.”

“True.”

“I’ll see you soon, _husband_ ," she said, leaning over to give Adrien a quick kiss and standing up. “I love you.”

“I love you too, _wife_ ,” he smiled back and Marinette wanted to go back to his arms but restrained herself and went to the bedroom to get ready for her fake wedding.

*

The photoshoot was fast but beautiful. They recreate the wedding and even though everything was just an act, Adrien felt his heart pounding and all the nervousness that he would certainly feel when it was all real.

Marinette looked beautiful in that dress. She had done it for the event and had never wear it since that night. It was great to see her wearing it, especially with that bun decorated with flowers that her mother did.

Nino moved around the place, taking the photos. They skipped many steps, like the vows, and went straight for the exchange of rings. Adrien took the ring Tom offered him and, with shaking hands, turned to Marinette, who held out her hand to him.

“Put the ring on her very slowly so I can take the photo, man,” Nino said.

Adrien gasped, head spinning and breathing hard. He should tell the truth now, stop all that mess. He should stop lying, it wasn’t fair to his friends, his in-laws, his _girlfriend_.

The world around him was spinning, the despair so intense that he felt tears in his eyes. The noises around him disappeared, he was lost in his own world, his hands shaking and sweating as he looked at Marinette’s hand in his, the ring inches from her finger, ready to make her his wife – he means, make her his _fake_ wife.

What should he do? What was the right thing to do? Keep that lie and help many that his father had hurt, or tell the truth and avoid the hurt and pain of the people he loved?

“Adrien?” Her voice went through all the fog that enveloped his mind and all the fear and despair was gone when he heard it.

He looked at her face and saw Marinette looked at him with concern. He bit his bottom lip and she stroked his hand, tilting her head to the side.

“I know you’re as nervous as you were that day, we can take a break if you want,” she said and just hearing her voice made everything calmer and more peaceful.

“No. Just… just keep talking to me,” he said, feeling a peace he hadn’t been able to feel for a long time and like magic, his hand stopped shaking as Marinette told a silly story about how she felt in the store while he slid the ring on her finger.

She looked at the ring and smiled with tears in her eyes.

“Your voice calms me down,” he confessed.

She smiled, sliding the ring on his finger. After that, she put her hand on his face, the cold ring against his warm skin and Adrien felt like the happiest man in the world. He leaned toward her, placing his forehead against hers, both of them with their eyes closed and just feeling the other’s presence.

Finally, Adrien kissed his fake wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: lalunaoscura.tumblr.com
> 
> i'm nice, i promise. :D


	5. Day 5: Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some domestic!Adrienette and a little of marichat cause we all need this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the kudos and comments, <3
> 
> Also, Millie is my little angel and I had to honor her for all the help with the fluff week <3

**Day 5 – Comfort**

Maybe the two of them had forgotten to take the rings off their fingers after they got home.

And maybe, as soon as they entered the house and were alone, their kwamis had to fly at the speed of light because as soon as Adrien closed the door, Marinette threw herself into his arms and almost devoured him.

Maybe Saturday night was spent on the living room rug and that at some point Adrien fetched blankets and pillows from the bedroom and the two of them curled up under the covers, slept until midday the next day, then made lunch, and went back to the rug.

And maybe, it was Monday and Marinette enter her store with a wide smile because of the wonderful weekend she had with her fake husband.

And maybe, maybe, she forgot to take off the ring.

When she entered the store, her employees were already there. Florence was a 34-year-old woman, married and with two amazing children and an incredible talent for sewing, and Millie was a sleepy and imaginative twenty-year-old who was studying Fashion. They were excellent employees and a strong friendship was formed between the three during working hours in the store and studio.

“Good morning!” Marinette greeted smiling and took off her gloves. The two employees returned the compliment.

“You are practically shining. Looks like someone had a good weekend,” Florence commented and made Marinette blush.

“Let’s say I did. Adrien and I took the weekend off to enjoy some time together.”

“This is so romantic!” Millie commented and approached Marinette to help her with some fabrics. “Hey, what’s that in your hand?”

“In my hand?” Marinette said confusedly, raising her hand and grunted at the same time that Millie screamed with joy. “Millie!”

“She has a _ring_!” Millie said, running over to Florence. “A _wedding_ ring!”

Florence looked at Marinette confused, who sighed to calm down. Why had she forgotten to take the ring off? She was lucky to have put on some gloves since the weather was starting to cool down and her hands were practically freezing earlier.

Imagine if she had to walk around the city with that ring, being the Adrien Agreste’s girlfriend. It would be news before the day was over.

“Look, let me explain.”

“The perfect weekend with your boyfriend is because you married him?” Florence raised her eyebrow, teasing. “And didn’t you even bring us a piece of the wedding cake?”

“No! I mean, I–” Once again, Marinette really wanted to pull the strands out of Adrien’s hair, one by one. He had put them both in a very difficult situation to explain. “Adrien and I have been married for a long time, but... we just wanted to keep it a secret because he was facing so much with his father.”

“Okay, so you didn’t use the ring because you wanted to keep it a secret. But why are you using it now?”

“Adrien bought the rings during the weekend and he couldn’t wait until our wedding anniversary to give me. We think that now is the ideal time to reveal it to the people we married,” it was amazing how easily the lie came out of her mouth.

“This is so sweet!” Millie smiled. “We should celebrate.”

“Oh, you don’t need to –”

“We should,” Florence interrupted Marinette. “A very special lunch, what do you think?”

The hopeful way Millie looked at Marinette made her sigh and nod.

“Okay, then. Lunchtime will be very special.”

After an incredible lunch with her employees, they went back to the store. Marinette decided to stay in the store with Millie while Florence sewed in the studio. Millie was serving a customer when the doorbell rang and Marinette went to the new customer.

“Good afternoon, can I help you?” She smiled at the woman, who took off her sunglasses and smiled at Marinette, who immediately stopped smiling. “Oh, hello, Giselle.”

Marinette had always loved the job at Gabriel. Create, play with the fabrics, help with the fashion shows, sew. Everything was incredible and Marinette loved being there, except when she had to work with Giselle.

Giselle was a fashion designer who worked at Gabriel and was very talented, but treacherous like a viper. She was a year younger than Marinette and her position above the position of Gabriel Agreste's daughter-in-law to be a _nasty_ creature.

Marinette simply hated that _bitch_.

“Marinette!” Giselle tossed her red hair back. “It’s so amazing to see you again.”

“Why are you here?”

“Aren’t you going to say hello to an old friend from work? Oh, don’t tell me that you already forgot our wonderful moments at Gabriel?”

“We were never friends and you know that. We were just co-workers,” Marinette crossed her arms. “Can I help you?”

“Oh, still serious as ever. It is good to see you, my dear. Are you still in contact with Adrien?”

“Since we lived together, I think so,” Marinette retaliated sweetly. “Can I help you with something?” she repeated.

“I want to see some dresses, I always thought your dresses were very beautiful.”

“Follow me, please,” Marinette said.

“Congratulations, by the way.”

“Because…?” Marinette asked, walking over to the mannequins in the dresses.

“The ring on your finger. You said you live with Adrien, so you two got married.”

With a lot of days for Giselle to enter that store, it had to be _today_.

“Yes.”

“Funny, I didn’t hear about it. And I think neither the media, right?”

“It was an intimate wedding.”

“I understand. With a terrorist father, the attention would be bad.”

Marinette stopped in place and turned to Giselle.

“Do you really want to buy something, or did you just come in here to wipe out what’s left of my patience with you?”

“Wow, Gabriel’s dog bites,” she said, smiling mischievously.

“What do you want, Giselle? For real.”

“I just came to see how you are doing, Marinette. And see your famous talent in action. Gabriel lavished praise on your creations, I wanted to see if such creations would be able to survive in the world without having Gabriel Agreste, your father-in-law, as the boss,” she looked around. “But I see that it isn’t the case. So talented and yet she failed to build an empire with her talent in the two years that she was far from Gabriel’s wings.”

“Leave my store,” Marinette spoke softly so as not to be overheard by the other customer.

“Are you going to treat a customer this way?”

“You never intended to be a customer, Giselle. You only came here to humiliate and frustrate me because I got something you never got: having my own store and marrying Adrien Agreste.”

Giselle’s eyes widened.

“You always hated me because you always had a crush on Adrien. Even working with him since he was fifteen, he never looked in your direction with interest. Because he already loved someone, because he loved me. We loved each other and you were furious about it. You were jealous that no man loved you as Adrien loves me because you can’t love anyone like I love Adrien!”

“How... how dare you?!”

“Get out of my store, Giselle. I will not ask again. I’ll drag you through your hair if I need to.”

“You should be at home being the trophy wife that Adrien needs. Learning to be an educated and elegant person. You’re married to a famous model, you had to be up to it. Just because you married him for fame and money, you still need to be the trophy wife he needs. Besides, your little store never goes ahead with your lack of talent. Gabriel only hired you because she was Adrien’s girlfriend. He just pretended that you had talent and people only agreed because you were the boss’s daughter-in-law! I doubt that I would survive in any fashion house!”

“Get out before I call the police,” Marinette said coldly, taking out her cell phone and giving Giselle a steady look.

“It’s ok. I’m leaving. But remember my words, Marinette. You are nothing more than the wife of Adrien Agreste. He’s the famous model, you’re too simple for him, I don’t know what the hell he saw on you to marry you. Until another day,” and smiling mischievously, she left.

As soon as she left, Marinette started to shake and tears were burning in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she went to Millie.

“Can you take care of the store for a while?”

“Sure,” Millie said, confused. “Something happened?”

“I just need to get some rest. I’ll be right back,” and even before she heard Millie’s answer, Marinette marched to her office.

Stressed, she entered the office and locked the door. She took off the ring, putting it inside her purse, angry.

Adrien neither wanted nor needed a trophy wife. That woman just wanted to piss her off and hurt her.

And Marinette hated herself for letting Giselle affect her.

*

Adrien’s day had been perfect.

He woke up with Marinette kissing his cheek and they had spent a moment together before they both had to leave that room and live as responsible adults they were. Adrien stopped by Nino’s house to get the photos before work and then went to the bank with Mr. Nolace to be able to get the money from the bank account.

The marriage certificate and the photos that Nino had edited were in an envelope that he handed to Nolace, who analyzed the papers without showing any emotion. The lawyer’s eyes scanned Adrien’s hand, without the ring.

“Not using the ring yet?”

“To the public, we haven’t gotten married yet. It would be suspicious of me walking around with the ring suddenly. We… want to avoid paparazzi.”

“I understand. And did she marry you wearing red?” Mr. Nolace asked with an eyebrow raised.

Adrien was prepared for that question, so he smiled at Nolace.

“Her mother is Chinese and Chineses wears red in the marriages. Today some of them still prefer to marry wearing red. According to them, it represents love.”

“Hm, this is really interesting. And it’s good to see her following her parent’s culture. Anyway, I think we have a donation to make, don’t we?”

“Yes,” Adrien tried to hide her excitement, but by Nolace’s smile, maybe he failed miserably.

After showing the documentation, he had access to all the money in the account his mother had left for him – and it had a lot of money. Adrien didn’t even hesitate when the bank manager asked him what he wanted to do. He just asked her to write a check so he could donate to the Institute.

After saying goodbye to Nolace and thanking him for the service and paying for his help, Adrien hid in the nearest alley, gave Plagg three pieces of camemberts and called his transformation.

He went to the Institute and donated the money. He was received as a king even before he donated, they show Chat the Institute, presenting all the therapies and how the place worked. He gave so many autographs and took so many pictures and his cheek probably hurt from smiling so much, but…

He was so happy that words were unable to express.

When Chat returned to the founder’s office, Chat told him that the donation was from Adrien Agreste, but that the man had gone to the hero to ask for the favor.

“He was afraid that the donation wouldn’t be accepted because of his… you know,” Chat shrugged. “But the money is entirely from Adrien. It was money that his mother left him before she married Gabriel.”

The founder hesitated when Chat delivered the check, but finally sighed and took it.

“We don’t blame him.”

Chat looked up.

“From his father’s actions. Adrien is not guilt. In fact, he suffered at the hands of akumas. Could you give him a message, Chat Noir?”

“Sure.”

“Tell him that if he wants to visit us any day, I mean, while we’re up and running... he’s welcome.”

“Absolutely,” Chat blinked and picked up his baton. “See you later.”

As soon as he left the window, Chat was able to hear the cry of joy from the founder of the Institute, certainly when he saw the value of the donation.

*

Adrien noticed that something was wrong when Marinette entered the house without smiling. She was serious and put away her coat and purse without saying a word and all the happiness that burned in Adrien’s chest died the moment he saw the stressed expression on his fake wife’s face.

“My lady?” He asked sweetly, approaching her. They faced each other, without moving, and Marinette had tears in her eyes. She threw herself into his arms, crying desperately and Adrien hugged her tightly, not understanding what had happened and willing to hurt whoever had hurt his princess.

“It’s unfair!” She whimpered.

“What?” He asked worriedly, pushing her hair away from her face so he could look at her. “What is it, Marinette?”

“I was having such a good day! Sales were great, I was having fun with my employees and that… that _bitch_ came into my store just to piss me off!”

“Wait, wait. Come here,” he said, taking her to the kitchen to give her a large glass of water. “What happened?”

Marinette drank all the water at once and took a deep breath. Adrien could see how she was shaking with anger and he started to worry even more. Tikki left Marinette’s coat, looking at her holder with narrowed eyes.

“She forgot to take off the ring before going to work today. And an old co-worker came to the store,” Tikki explained.

“ _Oh_ ,” Adrien said at last.

“She dared to tell me that I married you for fame, for _money_. She said that people just respected me and my designers because I was dating you,” Marinette squeezed the glass hard and Adrien took the object out of her hand before she got hurt, gently.

“Who?”

“Giselle.”

Adrien’s eyes widened and then sighed, exhausted.

“What?” Marinette asked.

“She… she flirted with me during a photoshoot. The one I did when I was eighteen. I made it very clear that I had no interest in her because I was dating the woman of my life.”

“Oh,” she smirked. “I’m going to kill that _bitch_.”

“Marinette. Hey,” he pulled her around the waist, hugging her. “Don’t be upset about her, my love. It’s in the past and she never tried anything with me again.”

“But, but–”

“As much as a person is cruel, I really think that taking revenge or threatening them is not the best thing to do. We must be fair, you know?”

Marinette looked at him for a while without saying anything.

“You are _too_ pure for this world.”

“What did she do, Marinette?” He said, hugging her. He felt her relax in his arms, but that didn’t stop him from starting to caress her arms to calm her down even more.

“She said that I should be at home being the trophy wife you deserved, that I should be learning to be elegant, to be the perfect woman, because I was married to a famous model and that I was too simple. She dared to tell me that she doesn’t know what you saw on me to make you marry me! And she hinted that my designers are bad and that the only reason I was working at Gabriel because I was dating the heir!” In the end, Marinette was already screaming through tears, shaking with frustration. “And do you know what’s worse? That I spent all day thinking that maybe she was right! Your father hired me without interviewing me, without looking at my designers! What if he hired me just because we were together?”

“Hey, hey, listen to me,” Adrien took her face in his hands and kissed her hard, trying to get all the anger, all the frustration, all the doubts out of her. “Don’t let what she said to hit you, my lady. You know that she is just furious that you have everything that she doesn’t. You have your store with your designers and your customers love your creations. You have a husband who loves you and cares about you.”

“A _fake_ husband,” she corrected playfully and he laughed, loving to hear her laugh back.

“Fake husband for now, right?” He said, looking her in the eye. He saw so much affection and so much love that he almost lost his breath. “Don’t care about what the others say, my lady. Only we know how much you struggle to maintain that store and to do what you love. And only the two of us know how I want everything, except a trophy wife who stays at home and lives for her husband,” he made a face and she laughed again.

Sighing, Adrien stroked her face.

“What made me love you was your autonomy. It was your willingness to fight for what is right, it was the times when you stood up and went against everyone because one of our friends was in trouble, it was because you always made your own decisions based on what you thought was right.”

“Oh, Adrien…”

“Always, I will always support you, my love. I don’t want you to be a trophy wife. I want you to follow your dreams and I want to help you make them come true.”

“What did I do to deserve you?”

“The same I did to deserve you,” he kissed her this time, feeling infinitely better when he realized she was calmer. “I’m going to order our dinner and we’re going to take a shower in the meantime.”

“Hmmm, do you think it’s a good idea? Last time we were late.”

“Let’s be more careful this time,” he laughed as he picked her up and carried them to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Adrien undressed Marinette and released her hair, taking time to untangle the strands and make a bun so as not to get wet during the shower. He filled the tub with warm water and added the bath salts she asked for, perfuming the water.

Marinette came in first and he ordered dinner. He put a quiet song on his cell phone and left it in the sink and then undressed while Marinette sighed with relief. Adrien contained the smile and entered the bathtub, behind her. With the bath loofah, he rubbed her skin, spreading kisses on the nape of her neck, telling about how his day had been and about the invitation of the owner of Institute had done.

“That’s amazing, _mon chaton_!” She said excitedly and Adrien hugged her, kissing her temple. “I told you, Adrien. Nobody thinks you helped your father. Everyone thinks you are as much a victim as others because you are.”

“Still, it’s good to hear those words and be sure.”

“I know,” she stroked his hand on her waist.

“Let’s finish this bath before the delivery man arrives,” he commented and she laughed, kissing his chin.

*

Marinette woke up alone and for no apparent reason. When she picked her cell phone and saw the time, she groaned because it was still two in the morning. Why was she awake at that hour?

She had to work early tomorrow. And there she was, unable to sleep.

Turning on the bed, she saw Adrien sleeping. He looked so calm and relaxed now that he had gotten the money and made the donation. Their lie, the false marriage, had been worth it in the end. Marinette’s wedding ring was in her purse and once again she wondered if that wedding ring Adrien had bought was the one they would wear in the future.

She had liked the weight of the ring on her finger. And she missed it.

Marinette had been sincere when she told Adrien why she didn’t want to get married yet, why she was so hesitating about it, about how she really wanted the store to manage without her, so she could make schedules for her, Adrien and their children.

But she wanted so badly, so badly, to wear a wedding dress and marry the man in front of her.

She put her hand on his face and he shifted and woke up. His sleepy eyes scanned her face.

“I didn’t want to wake you up, sorry,” she said.

“Is everything okay?” He asked worriedly.

“I just can’t sleep. I think today was too hectic.”

“Okay,” he sat down and turned on the lamp. “Put on a sweater.”

“What? Why?” She asked confused as he went to the kwamis’ nest. “Adrien, he will _kill_ you.”

“Just for the old days, my lady. Hey, Plagg.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, tossing the blanket aside and going to the closet. She came back wearing a sweater over her pajamas and with a blanket in her arms. Chat Noir was in the room, waiting for her.

“How many camemberts did you just lose?”

“More than I would like,” he grimaced and held out his hand to her. “But each one was worth it.”

Smiling, Marinette approached him. Chat helped her to climb his back and picked up the baton and left the room using the balcony door.

They landed on the roof of Oblivio’s building and she sat on the floor as soon as she got off Chat’s back. Her partner sat behind her, pulling her closer, her back against his chest.

“Aren’t you going to destransform?” She asked.

“So Plagg can kill me and refuse to let me transform again when we want to leave?”

Marinette laughed and then opened the blanket and threw it over her legs and rested her head on Chat’s shoulder. The two were silent, exchanging caresses and light kisses.

“Thank you,” she whispered, breaking the silence.

“For?”

“For everything you’ve done for me today and every day. For always supporting me and loving me. For the comfort you provide me.”

“Princess, I just return what you do and feel for me,” he said and kissed her cheek.

They were silent again and Chat soon began to purr. Marinette closed her eyes and nurtured by the warmth of the love of her life, and the affection he gave her and his purring, she soon fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was morning and she was in their bed. Adrien had already gone to work but had left a flower and a note for her, saying that he had gone to work and that he loved her.

And that he would come home later because he had to stop at the market to buy Camembert for Plagg.


	6. Day 6: AU (Parents AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I was having some health issues and this chapter was really hard to finish, but I hope you like it!
> 
> leave a comment! <3

Two months passed without any further confusion – that is, without any confusion caused by Adrien’s lie.

The fashion show that Marinette helped was a success, in a way that made her sales and consequently her work at her store increase. That was good and bad news – good because soon she would be able to maintain the store without having to work so hard, and bad because she and Adrien were barely seeing each other.

Adrien became a volunteer at the Institute and Chat Noir loved to visit it. Marinette was happy to see her fake husband so happy, but sometimes, when she was able to leave work early, he was at the Institute and she missed him.

The last time the two of them had a moment alone was four weeks ago and she missed him. Sometimes she went to bed, and he was already asleep and when she woke up, he was already gone to work. She knew that adult life was charging them, but she missed the times when the two of them could transform and break into each other’s room to sleep together, watch movies or videos on the internet, or just chat until they fell asleep.

Nathalie had never caught them again, they had learned their lesson last time.

And now… Marinette was feeling alone and needy. That’s why on Thursday night, Marinette practically begged Alya to take her to dinner because if she spent another night alone eating frozen food, she would freak out.

Alya gladly accepted if they had margaritas included with their dinner.

Marinette asked for three for each one.

They were both laughing and talking when Alya’s cell phone vibrated on the table. She picked it up and read the notification, grumbling with her mouth full and rolling her eyes.

“What?” Marinette asked.

“It’s Nino. He’s complaining because I’m going to be too drunk to help him filter Ladyblog’s emails later.”

“Wait, I thought that Ladyblog hasn’t had that much movement since Papillon’s defeat.”

“And It didn’t, until this image leaked over the internet,” Alya handed the cell phone to Marinette, who saw the image of Ladybug on Chat Noir’s lap, the ring in her hands and the velvet box on the table. Marinette stopped the urge to moan. “Fanfics and theories came back kicking my butt.”

“You should ask Adrien for help. He would love to read the fanfics.”

“Adrien likes fanfic?”

“He read all of them on your blog,” Marinette said, taking a bite of the pasta she had ordered. “Even from other sites, I think.”

“Oh, Ladynoir’s number one fan doesn’t disappoint me. I could ask him for help, but it would decrease your time together and you’re already missing him. Anyway, I still can’t believe _Ladynoir_ is getting married! Will they call me to their wedding?”

“Without revealing their identity? I don’t think so.”

“I don’t know why they don’t reveal their identities. I mean, we no longer have a supervillain out there and the miraculous are safe since Mayura was also caught.”

“They must have the reasons why they don’t want to reveal themselves. And I think that if they reveal their identities, people will want to know about the other heroes' identities too, like Rena Rouge.” Marinette picked up the margarita and took a sip.

Alya hesitated, her hand on her margarita glass.

“Would you… would you believe me if I told you I was Rena Rouge?” she whispered.

Marinette placed the glass on the table and leaned towards Alya.

“Would you believe me if I told you that I am Ladybug?” Marinette whispered back.

Alya looked at her for a few seconds and laughed.

“I think we drank too many margaritas.”

“I agree.”

“Two more for each one?”

“Of course.”

After dinner, Alya picked up the phone to order the Uber. They would go to Marinette’s house and Nino would pick her up after work. They paid for dinner and left the restaurant.

“Urgh, don’t let me forget that I need to buy tampons when Nino picks me up. My period starts tomorrow and Nino forgot to buy for me.”

As if it were an alarm, Marinette stopped walking after Alya and froze in place. Tampons. Period. Something that happened all month and that she controlled with the pills she took every day.

Or that she _should_ be taking because, since her fake marriage, Marinette has been so busy, with that lot of things to do and solve and so stressed that she forgot a very important detail in her life: taking her pills.

“M?” Alya asked worriedly. “You look very pale, are you okay?”

“I’m late.”

“Late for what?”

“My _period_. It’s late.”

“Oh, oh. Okay, don’t panic. You are taking the pills, right?”

“I forgot!”

“Marinette!”

“I had crazy months, okay? The donation, and then telling you about the wedding, then the fashion show and my store is so full and the commissions, so I kept forgetting and forgetting and forgetting!”

“Okay, okay. When did you last take it?”

“Two months ago?” she smiled nervously and saw Alya gasped.

“Did you use a _condom_?”

Marinette started to cough and Alya stuck her hands in her face.

“How was I supposed to know?! I was taking pills!” Marinette tried to defend herself.

“Correction, you _should_ be taking contraceptives. And you know that it’s not 100% effective, Marinette!”

“Alya, stop! You’re worrying me.”

“How long are you late?”

“I don’t know, three weeks?”

“Are you sure?”

Marinette took out her cell phone and opened the app, which said that her menstruation delay was…

“One month and two weeks,” she whispered.

“What?!” Alya said in panic, taking the phone from Marinette’s hand. “Oh, damn it. Okay, don’t panic. Let’s go to a pharmacy and buy a pregnancy test.”

“Alya,” she took Alya’s wrist. “I can’t be pregnant right now.”

“You’re not pregnant. It must be just stress. When I was in college, my period was late for three months. Nino almost freaked out and in the end, was just because I was really stressed. But you are married, girl, and you have an amazing house and husband. This baby will be very loved and you will take care of your store and be an amazing mom at the same time, I’m sure. Everything will be okay.”

“Yeah,” she swallowed. “Yes, it will.”

*

Marinette bought the pregnancy test and stuck it in the bottom of her purse, telling Alya that she didn’t want Adrien to know until she was sure. In addition to the pharmacy test, she was determined to have a blood test as soon as possible.

When they arrived at Marinette’s house, they stopped at the door to see that Adrien’s car was already there.

“Okay, okay. No panic!” Marinette ordered.

“You’re the one in a panic. You need to learn to control your nervousness, Marinette.”

“Okay, okay!” she took a deep breath. “I won’t be able to do the test with him around!”

“He is the child’s father.”

“ _Supposed_ child. I don’t even know if I’m pregnant yet!” she stirred and Alya silenced her by placing her finger against Marinette’s mouth.

“Do you want Adrien to hear us and find out about your unborn child?!”

“Okay, sorry!” Marinette held up her hands. At that time, someone honked and when they looked, it was Nino in the car, waving. They waved back and Alya turned to Marinette, holding her by the shoulders.

“Tomorrow you can find a way to do the test and send me a message as soon as you get the result.”

“Right,” she swallowed. “I’m afraid.”

Alya’s expression became softer as she kissed Marinette’s forehead.

“Don’t worry, girl. Everything is going to be okay. You have Adrien, remember? And me, Nino, your parents, and your friends. You’re not alone.”

“Thank you, Alya. I love you.”

“Don’t worry, girl. I love you, okay? Call me when you want,” she gave Marinette another hug and went to the car.

Marinette took a deep breath and entered her house. She locked the door behind her and was met with the silent house. She put the purse on the table and picked her phone. On tiptoe, she entered the room and almost melted with relief to see Adrien sleeping soundly in bed.

She went into the bathroom and locked the door, leaning against it.

“I’m going to die,” she grunted, burying her face in her hands. Tikki came out of the pocket of Marinette’s jacket and nuzzled against her cheek.

“You’re not going to die, Marinette,” she whispered, trying to calm her holder down.

“We’re not married, Tikki, it’s all a lie,” she started to cry for some reason that she didn’t know. Maybe it was pregnancy hormones already. “I’m going to have a baby with Adrien before I can even marry him. How am I going to be ready to raise a child with Adrien if I’m not even ready to marry him?”

There it was. Marinette’s fear, the reason for her hesitation whenever Adrien wanted to get married. She did want to marry Adrien. Having a family with him, giving him all the love he deserved. Being part of a loving family with him, something Adrien never had and that he wanted so badly.

Perhaps that was why she didn’t feel ready. Maybe she still didn’t know if she would be able to make him happy as he deserved, how he made her happy.

She hugged her legs to her chest, rested her forehead on her knees and cried softly.

But she must have cried a little louder, or Adrien really had the sharpest hearing because of his miraculous, since a few minutes later he went into the bathroom looking sleepy and worried.

“My lady?” he said, kneeling. “Hey, did something happen?”

She sobbed and threw herself into his arms, who hugged her tightly.

“Tell me,” he asked.

“I love you. So much.”

“I know, my lady. I love you so much too,” he said, his voice amused. “You smell like alcohol. Did you and Alya lost control?”

She kept quiet, hugging him to calm down. Adrien sighed and then picked her up.

“Come on. I’m going to bath you and I’m going to put you to sleep.”

She nodded, burying her face in his neck. She didn’t know why she was so afraid of being pregnant, but she knew Adrien was there for her.

*

The next morning, Marinette was in the kitchen preparing breakfast and Adrien was desperately searching for the car keys that he didn’t remember where he had put. She had taken the morning off after waking up with a headache and Adrien teased her by saying it was a hangover.

She just rolled her eyes at his pranks.

“You’d better just give up and go with Plagg,” Marinette screamed from the kitchen.

“I need to go to the market later, I won’t be able to carry the groceries as Chat Noir,” he said, lifting her purse off the table so he could see if the key was underneath. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

“Leave the groceries for tomorrow, you will be late for work.”

He placed her purse on the table with a little more force than necessary and the contents fell across the table, spreading everything. Groaning, Adrien started to pick her things to put back in the purse when he took the bag from the pharmacy with a square box. Frowning, he stopped packing and curiosity killed the cat.

He looked over his shoulder, seeing if Marinette was still in the kitchen, and then took the box out of the pharmacy bag. Inside was a box with a pregnancy test.

_Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no–_

“Plagg?” he asked quietly. His kwami lifted his head from the pocket of Adrien’s coat.

“Yes?”

“Is pregnancy test written here or am I reading it wrong?”

Plagg flew from his pocket to the box and looked. Finally, he looked in the direction of Adrien with wide eyes.

“I need to speak to Tikki,” and flew towards the room, leaving Adrien alone and freaking out inside while looking at that pregnancy test that was still sealed inside the box.

It hadn’t been used yet. Why?

“Adrien? Did you find the key?”

Her voice pulled him out of his freeze and he went to the kitchen, holding the pregnancy test in his hand. Marinette had her back to him, mixing some dough and didn’t notice that he came in.

He looked at the test in his hand once more.

“Marinette?” he called her. “Do you want to explain this to me?”

She turned, confused, until she saw what Adrien was holding. She left the bowl with the dough fall to the floor. The luck was that it was made of plastic.

“I… I can explain,” she said, pale.

“Please,” he pleaded.

“My period is late and Alya convinced me to buy a pregnancy test,” she swallowed.

“Yes, but I thought you were taking pills?”

“I forgot,” she grunted, burying her face in her hands. “I’ve been so busy and hectic these past few months that I haven’t even remembered the pills.”

“So you’re telling me that the times we… _oh_.”

“Yes, Adrien. _Oh_ ,” she threw her hands up. “I may be pregnant.”

“And why haven’t you did the test yet?”

“Because I’m scared to death,” she said, bending down so she could take the bowl she had dropped and put it in the sink. “I’m _terrified_.”

“When I met you in the bathroom yesterday, was that why you were crying?” he followed her since she left the kitchen.

“Yes,” she took the test from his hands and put it in the bag.

“And why are you terrified?!” he asked, confused. Why was her reaction terrified when a joy burned in Adrien’s chest?

“Because I’m not ready to be a mother, Adrien!" she stopped walking and turned to him, completely agitated. “I’m not having time for me, for both of us, who will tell a kid!”

“My lady, love,” he said, placing the test on the table and approaching her. “We have time.”

“Time?” she laughed sarcastically.

“Yes, Marinette, time. We have at least eight months to learn how to act as good parents and learn about pregnancy. It’s not like they’re going to ring our bell and offer us a baby now.”

At that time, the doorbell rang.

She shot him a hard look and Adrien walked to the door, trying to contain his nervousness as he opened the door.

The first thing he saw was a beautiful baby girl, who was looking at him with big curious eyes.

“Okay, nobody is going to ring our bell and offer us a million euros,” he whispered.

“Hm, hello?” a woman said, confused.

Adrien stopped staring at the baby and looked at whoever was holding her. Mylene smiled, a little confused, but welcoming as always.

“Mylene!” he said, finally overcoming the shock of seeing the baby in Mylene’s arms. He leaned over to give her a side hug because of the cute little thing she was holding.

“Who is...?” Marinette asked, approaching. She gasped when she saw the baby in Mylene’s hands and turned to Adrien, pale. “What were you saying?”

“Did I miss anything?” Mylene asked, confused.

“It’s nothing,” Marinette recovered quickly. “Let’s go in, Mylene. I was making breakfast and…”

“Oh, Marinette, I would love to, but I’m in a bit of a hurry,” she looked agitated. “I have to go to the hospital, my father is not feeling good and I need to be with him.”

“I’m so sorry!” Marinette and Adrien said at the same time.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Marinette offered, although she already knew what it should be.

“Actually,” Mylene bit her bottom lip. “I called Anne’s nanny, but she has class and Alya told me that you were off today, Marinette. I’m so sorry to have to ask you something like this, but Ivan is on a business trip and now that he got on a plane because he heard about my father and we have no one to look after Anne and–”

“Hey, no problem!” Marinette hurried to guarantee, leaning forward and reaching for Anne, who reached out to Marinette and leaned into her arms. “We take care of her, you go take care and make sure your father is well.”

“Oh, Marinette! I don’t even know how to thank you.”

“Taking care of your father,” Adrien said, taking the baby bag that Mylene was carrying on her shoulder. “We will take care of your Anne.”

“We will get her as soon as we can, okay? The bag has everything you need, diapers and bottles. She is already a year old and eats everything. I’ll be with my phone all the time, if you need me don’t hesitate to call.”

“We won’t,” Adrien assured her, watching Anne laugh as Marinette grimaced at her. “Your girl will be well taken care of. Take care of your father.”

“Thank you, guys, for real,” Mylene thanked them again. After giving some more information about her daughter, she got in the car and drove away.

Adrien closed the door behind him and saw Marinette holding Anne and looking at him seriously.

“What was it? It’s not like they’re going to ring our bell and offer us a baby now?”

“Haha, so funny,” he put Anne’s bag on the table. “Plagg, _transform moi_!”

He transformed into Chat Noir and went to Marinette, kissing her on the forehead.

“I will arrive after lunch or as soon as I am released. If you need me, please call me,” he pleaded. Marinette nodded, placing her hand on his face and giving him a light kiss.

Anne, who was on her arms, laughed heartily and held her hands out to Chat.

“I’m sorry, little one, but this _chat_ needs to go. I’ll be right back to play with you. Oh, Marinette…”

“Yes?”

“I want you to wait for me to come back to do the test, but if you feel ready, you don’t have to wait for me. Just… call me as soon as you get the result, okay?”

“Yes. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said and left through the living room window.

*

Marinette’s morning was different but incredible.

Anne was a super sweet baby. She never cried, mumbling only in the middle of the morning because of hunger. Marinette cut several fruits and sat on the sofa with Anne, the two of them watching some kids show and enjoying themselves with the fruits.

At lunchtime, Marinette opened a blanket at the kitchen floor and placed Anne’s toys so she could play while Marinette cooked. Tikki was close to the baby to watch over her. With her cell phone ringing With or Without You – U2, Marinette started preparing lunch, singing.

Anne started to laugh and Marinette turned to her, still holding the spoon she was using to stir the meat in the pan.

“Oh, do you like my voice?” Marinette said. Anne stretched out her arms, begging to be picked up, and Marinette couldn’t resist. With Anne in her arms, she placed the spoon at the level of her mouth and started singing to the baby, who was watching her with intent eyes, and then smiled.

Marinette felt tears burning in her eyes and hugged Anne.

“Did you know that I can have a little friend for you in my belly?” she commented, looking back at Anne’s face. “And I’m terrified, Anne. But when I saw the happiness on Adrien’s face earlier… I felt so ready. Do you think I’m going to be a good mother?”

As if she was answering Marinette, Anne laid her head on her chest and was quiet. Marinette kissed the top of her head and sighed.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.”

*

The house was quiet when Adrien entered. He could still smell the lunch that Marinette had made, but he had no idea where Marinette or Anne was. Mylene had called him earlier with news about her father, saying he was fine, but would still be under observation at the hospital for some time.

Ivan would only arrive at the end of the day. Adrien had all afternoon to help Marinette with the baby and prove that they could take care of a baby, as long as they worked together.

He went to the kitchen and put the food on the microwave and gave Plagg cheese. Curiosity was practically killing the cat inside him and he needed to know if she had done the test – and what the result had been.

“You know, you’re worrying for nothing,” Plagg commented, nibbling on the cheese as he watched Adrien unable to be quiet for more than two seconds. “If she were really pregnant, Tikki wouldn’t stop smiling.”

“What you mean?”

“Kwami of creation, remember? She can feel it if Marinette is pregnant. And she felt nothing, so…” Plagg shrugged.

“Is that why you desperately flew towards her earlier, when I found the test?”

“Yes. If Marinette were pregnant, Tikki would feel it,” he said and Adrien tried not to demonstrate how hearing that phrase from his kwami had affected him. “I mean, sometimes she was wrong. But it is because the pregnancy was too early for her to sense it.”

“Plagg, do you think…”

“Kid,” Plagg flew up to Adrien’s eye level. “There is just one way to find out, and it involves you and your bug to stop stubbornness and fear and do the test soon.”

Adrien nodded and grabbed his lunch. He entered the living room when Marinette left their bedroom, closing the door behind her.

“I smelled the food and woke up,” she said and approached him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. “Are you okay?”

“I should be the one asking this. How was your morning?” he said, sitting on the couch and placing the plate of food on his lap. Marinette sat next to him and while he ate, she told how the morning with Anne had been.

“She is wonderful, Adrien. Ivan and Mylene are very lucky. She wanted to cry, I think she is missing her mother, so I put her to sleep.”

“I’m glad you had a good morning,” he placed the plate on the coffee table and turned to Marinette, taking her hands and kissing them. “So… what about the pregnancy test?”

“I was scared and… I wanted to wait for you.”

He caressed her face and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

“Do you want to do it now?”

She nodded and they both got up from the couch at the same time. Marinette picked up the pregnancy test that was lying on the table and the two went to the bathroom.

She went into the bathroom and closed the door, almost hitting Adrien on the face. Frowning, she looked at him.

Can I know what you're doing?” she asked confused.

“Hm, being by your side…?” he asked even more confused.

“I don’t need help to pee on a stick, Adrien," she frowned.

“You said you were scared!” he argued.

“Of the result!” she said as if it was obvious. “I can pee on my own, thanks.”

“Don’t you want me to stay?”

“Adrien,” she took a deep breath and looked the way she always looked at him during Akuma fights when he was pissing her off. “Just... come in when I say, okay?”

“Okay, okay. Understood,” he grunted, leaving the bathroom. Marinette closed the door and Adrien leaned against it, rubbing his face with his hands.

They were silent and Adrien was paying attention to the noises but he couldn’t hear anything. In fact, everything was too quiet in that bathroom.

“My lady?” he asked.

“I can’t pee!” she mumbled.

“Oh, for God’s sake, Marinette,” he put his hands on the door. “Turn on the faucet, think about water, just make that pee come out!”

“You know, hurrying up isn’t going to make me pee any faster since _I don’t want to pee_!”

He groaned, leaning his forehead against the door.

“Do you want me to get you some water to drink?”

“Please.”

The nervousness in the bottom of Adrien’s stomach made him practically run to the kitchen to fetch water for Marinette, who opened the door for him with an uneasy expression and drank the water in one sip.

“Look,” Adrien took her hands and made her look at him. “If you’re not pregnant, that’s fine. But if you are, that’s fine too. We’re going to find a way, we always do.”

She nodded in agreement.

“Just… let me help you in some way. I hate seeing you agitated like that and I can’t do anything, it drives me crazy. ”

“Just hug me,” she asked and he gladly answered her request.

The next half hour was with Adrien sitting on the bathroom floor, caressing Plagg’s ears while Marinette paced and waited for her bladder to fill.

Tikki was sitting on Adrien’s head, watching Marinette with tremendous concentration. After much waiting and anguish, Marinette said she wanted to pee. Adrien started to get up, but she stopped him.

“You can stay. I think nervousness was getting in the way and you calm me down.”

Adrien nodded and watched the kwamis fly into the room to check on Anne. He kept his head down, playing with the lucky charm that Marinette had given him when they were still children, still learning how to be heroes.

So many years had passed since that time, so many things had happened and changed them, how they acted, how they were. And maybe another drastic change would happen.

“It’s done,” Marinette whispered, placing the pot of urine on top of the piece of toilet paper she had set earlier. “And now…”

Adrien got up from the floor and put his hands on her waist, hugging her from behind while Marinette placed the pregnancy test in her urine. She looked at the box.

“... we have to wait five minutes.”

“Right,” he said, burying his face in her hair and trying to breathe slowly to calm himself. His heart was pounding so hard that his chest was aching, he was out of breath and he could have sworn he now understood why Marinette fainted whenever something intense happened.

They were silent, one more nervous than the other, trying to calm their partner when they were dying of anxiety inside.

“These are the longest five minutes of my life,” Marinette commented. Adrien chuckled, kissing her cheek.

“My lady?” he whispered.

“Yes, _mon chaton_?”

“I hope our baby has your eyes.”

He heard Marinette gasp and kissed the tear that streamed down her face.

The five minutes finally passed and Marinette turned, burying her face in Adrien’s chest.

“I can’t see,” she gasped and he kissed her forehead.

“I’ll do it,” he took the test and looked at the result.

He felt the tears burning and before he could stop them, he was already crying. Sighing, he placed the test in the sink and looked at his lady.

“Marinette, you’re not pregnant,” he said, trying to hide the sadness in his voice and the disappointment.

“Oh,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “That’s good, right?” We weren’t ready,” ut her voice seemed to contradict her words. The two looked at each other, not knowing what to say or what to do.

Good thing Plagg entered into the bathroom at that moment.

“Anne woke up.”

“You can go, I’ll clean this up,” Adrien said, swallowing the tears.

“Okay,” she said, wiping the tears from her face and left.

He threw the urine into the toilet and flushed it and threw the pot in the trash. He took the test, seeing the result again, hoping to see something different from what they had obtained, a result he was hoping for, but found it intact.

She wasn’t pregnant, not yet. They wouldn’t be parents, at least not now.

He could wait a little longer.

Adrien threw the test in the trash, washed his hands and went to the bedroom, stopping at the door when she saw Marinette hugging Anne, crying in silence.

*

Marinette didn’t understand why she was so upset that the test result was negative. It was what she wanted, right? She didn’t feel ready to be a mother yet, she wanted to wait a little longer. She had so much she wanted to do before she became a mother. Watch her store grow, have her own fashion line.

Marry Adrien for real.

She stroked her temples, feeling the headache intensify. She needed to take some medicine soon, but she was unable to move from the couch.

After he found her crying, Adrien took Anne from her lap and went to change her on the bed. Marinette leaned against the headboard, trying to calm herself as she saw Adrien struggling at his task.

Laughing through tears, Marinette got up from the bed and went to his side.

“Let me help you,” she said, teaching him step by step how to change a diaper. Adrien watched everything very carefully and did everything following Marinette’s instructions. In the end, the diaper had been changed and Anne was smiling.

Adrien and Marinette prepare something for her to eat and the two went to the living room. Adrien took several toys and stuffed toys and sat on the couch with Anne, playing with her while Marinette was curled up on a blanket, lying on the couch watching the scene.

She dozed off at some point and when she woke up, Adrien was no longer in the room with Anne. The house was quiet, so she thought Adrien must have gone out with Anne.

The night was beginning to fall and she lay in the dark for some time, taking in the confusion that had been her day. Picking up her cell phone, she checked the messages. One from Alya, asking about the test result, and the other from Ivan, saying he would pick up Anne in an hour.

The message had been sent forty minutes ago. Sighing, Marinette got up and started to pack Anne’s things. When everything was ready, she texted Adrien, asking where he was.

He heard the noise of the notification in the distance and frowned. She opened the door to their room and put her hands over her mouth at the scene she saw.

Adrien was lying in bed, sleeping soundly, with Anne lying on his chest, her body moving in the rhythm of Adrien’s breathing. Plagg was lying on top of the baby and Marinette could hear his purring.

She snapped a photo, put the phone in her pocket and approached Adrien to wake him up and prepare Anne to go.

“Adrien?” she whispered, stroking his hair.

He opened his eyes, blinking confused and sleepy.

“What?”

“You’re going to be an excellent father,” she murmured and Adrien’s expression made her heart melt. ‘Come on, Ivan is coming to get her.”

Adrien nodded, kissing Anne on the top of the head before holding her tightly to get up without waking her. Marinette watched him gently put Anne on the bed so as not to wake her and her heart filled with love and joy.

Yeah, he would be an excellent father.


	7. Day 7: Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to wrap this up, it was Carnaval at Brazil and it means we're free since friday night LOL
> 
> I had relatives visiting all the weekend and I couldn't really finish this up until today...

Mylene’s father left the hospital late at night, feeling well. The chest pain was nothing more than a stress crisis and after he was medicated, and spent the day under observation in the hospital, he was released to go home.

Ivan and Mylene thanked Marinette and Adrien for taking care of Anne. Adrien and Marinette made sure that whenever they needed someone to look after Anne they just need to let the couple know.

The next day, Marinette and Adrien went to the hospital for a blood test and the result confirmed what the two had already seen in that pharmacy test. The test result was negative and wasn’t discussed between them. He knew that just as he was feeling a little disappointed, so was Marinette. But as she said herself that day, when they went to sleep, it was better this way.

And they were young. There was still time.

Marinette went to a doctor and did some tests and the doctor said that her period should be delayed due to the stress she was experiencing. Her sales and commissions were growing more and more and she was already thinking of hiring a new employee to stay in the store, much to Adrien’s relief and happiness. This meant that she would have more time at home and won’t be so stressed.

He loved it when she was working at home, because she was right there, a door away.

On Saturday afternoon, after having lunch with Nino, Adrien went straight home and her studio. She didn’t hear him come in since she had a headphone on and lost in her world while she drew in her sketchbook.

Adrien watched for half a second until he lost patience and paused the music on her cell phone. Marinette looked up, confused, and rolled her eyes when she saw Adrien with the cell phone in his hands.

“I thought you were going to Nino’s house to play video games,” she commented, taking off the headphones.

“That was the plan if he hadn’t left me for Alya,” he said, kissing her cheek. “She texted him to pick her up at her parents’ house and I’m sure I wasn't invited for their date!”

“Poor little _chaton_ ,” she said, still focused on the dress model she was drawing.

He looked at the drawing, not at all surprised to see the details and how incredible it looked, even though still incomplete. Looking at her face, he noticed that it was like he wasn’t there.

He sighed, resting his elbow on the table and watching her. Marinette bit her tongue the way she did whenever she was focused on a difficult task. He smiled, leaning towards her, who moved slightly to the side, thinking he wanted space to see her drawing.

He tried to get her attention by nodding and moving his head, but she continued to draw without realizing his presence. He sighed loudly, playing with the rubber on the table.

“I stole the horse’s miraculous, do you want to go for a ride?” he lied, waiting for a reaction from her.

“That’s good, love.”

“I killed someone today,” he said.

“Nice.”

“You aren’t even listening to me,” he grunted and leaned towards her. “Give me a kiss, please.”

She turned her face to his direction, keeping her eyes still on the drawing, and gave him a peck. Adrien kept his face in place, waiting for something else, but she didn’t kiss him again.

“It wasn’t even a kiss!” he complained, leaning back in his chair. “Who would have thought that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who loved to kiss me, that every opportunity she had to make me dizzy for kissing me, now refuses to give me a decent kiss!”

“I need to finish this dress today!” she said laughing. “I’ll give you all the kisses you want later, I promise.”

“We are living together, but I am feeling so lonely!” he said dramatically, rising from his chair and leaving the studio. “I’m going to the bedroom, lie alone in my bed, lonely as always, abandoned, exchanged for a mere dress!”

She closed the sketchbook and turned to him, a wide smile on her face.

“You made me close my sketchbook,” she hummed, looking at him. “What now?”

He laughed maliciously, walking over to her and picking her up. Marinette laughed, wrapping her legs around his waist, and kissed him. Adrien sighed, burying his hand in her hair and intensifying the kiss.

When he stopped the kiss so they could breathe, Marinette leaned her forehead against his.

“Did you miss me?”

“Did _you_ miss me?” he joked, carrying her on his lap to their room.

“A little bit, maybe.”

“Great. Because I missed you a lot,” he tossed her on the bed and Marinette laughed, stretching out on the mattress. The shirt she was wearing, which looked very much like one of his old shirt he hadn’t seen in days, went up a little bit, exposing a little bit of the fair skin.

“And what are you going to do about it?”

He smirked, kneeling on the bed.

“Love you,” he lay on top of her, kissing her.

“I like the sound of that,” she said, playing with the strands of hair on the back of his neck.

“Great,” he smirked and kissed her again.

*

As neither of them had an appointment for Sunday, they stayed in bed after waking up, cuddling and talking. It didn’t take long for Marinette to doze, however. At the rate she was working, but looking for a new employee, she was waking up early and sleeping late.

Whenever he had a chance to make her sleep, Adrien took the opportunity. So he let her sleep and watched, smoothing her hair until he felt sleepy and felt in sleep too.

His nap was wonderful until his cell phone rang. Grumbling, he tried to get up to get his cell phone, but he couldn’t move because Marinette had thrown her arm over him.

“ _Buginette_ ,” he whispered and she grunted to answer him. “I need to answer my phone.”

“Do I have to move?” she mumbled back.

“Once you threw yourself at me, yes.”

“So you don’t have to answer your phone,” she sighed and Adrien laughed.

“It will be ringing and you won’t be able to sleep.”

“Okay, okay! I am convinced,” she moved and he laughed.

Adrien picked up the phone, which had stopped ringing, and frowned when he saw it was Nolace’s phone on the notification. What could it be?

He sat on the bed and called his lawyer, who answered promptly.

“Hello, Mr. Nolace. Sorry I didn’t answer, I was away from my phone.”

“Oh, no problem, Adrien,” he said, but his voice seemed too serious. “I was thinking, wouldn’t you like to come to have lunch with me today? So that I can finally meet your wife?”

Adrien stopped the urge to moan and turned to the side, watching Marinette sitting on the bed, attentive. She must have wake up when she heard Nolace’s name.

“Today? I don’t know, it’s so late and I think Marinette made appointments and…”

“We need to talk, Adrien. About the _sweetest_ lie you’ve ever told.”

Immediately, Adrien froze with his phone against his ear and stopped listening to the rest of what Nolace said. Because he knew, he knew what a lie Nolace was talking about. The sweetest lie he had ever told was kept in the drawer.

The pair of rings he had bought to forge his and Marinette’s fake wedding photos.

How had Nolace found out?

“What lie?” he tried but heard Nolace snort on the other end of the line.

“Just come to my house, I’ll send my address by message. I expect you in two hours,” and he hung up.

Adrien looked at the phone screen for a while and turned to Marinette, who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I have good and bad news,” he said, adjusting himself to sit behind her.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting ready. Okay, the good news is that we are going to have lunch at Nolace’s!”

“And the bad one?” she asked.

“It’s just that, somehow, he found out that we lied about being married and that we forged the documents.”

“ _Oh_ ,” she whispered and soon afterward fell flat on Adrien’s arms, who was already waiting for this and for that reason had sat behind her.

Sighing, he brushed Marinette’s hair off her face and watched her pale face, waiting for her to wake up. Tikki appeared holding an alcohol-soaked cloth and Adrien thanked her, placing it under Marinette’s nose.

One day he would understand why she passed out every time things got a little intense. But at that moment, they both had a bigger problem to fix.

Face the consequences of their lie.

*

“Can you please stop this?” she begged when she saw Adrien adjusting his tie _again_ , nervous. “It’s making me crazy!”

“What if he wants to report us?!” he asked quietly as he ran his hand over his jacket. She noticed that he was shaking a lot and that’s why he had asked her to drive.

“Now it’s too late to be thinking about it. We just have to worry about convincing him that we are really married.”

“I don’t think he will believe it,” Adrien buried his face in his hands. “Don’t you think that it’s better to convince him of the reasons why we lied?”

“He already knows that you did it because you want to donate. And he knows how much it means to you. I’m sure he just wants to talk and understand the situation.”

“Right. And if he wants to report us, I will make sure that only I take the blame.”

“Adrien,” she said firmly. “I signed that document too.”

“I can say that I forged your signature and–”

“I’m not going to let you take the blame alone. Get it out of your head.”

“I put you in this mess!”

“And I accepted to be at your side and help you all the time. If you take the blame for something, I will take the blame with you. Start accepting it, Adrien, or I will drive back home!”

“My lady…”

“Until the end, remember?” she said, looking at him. Sighing, he nodded. “Okay, we can do it. We will convince Nolace that we did it with good intentions and that we are willing to pay the price for our choices together.”

“Did I say I love you today?” he asked so quietly that she hardly heard.

“Maybe, but it’s always good to hear,” she said back and he sighed.

The rest of the way to Nolace’s house was in complete silence, except for the music playing in the background, an attempt to calm them both. Nolace’s house was not far, but it looked like it was in another country as Marinette drove. She was tired and her whole body ached from the tension, but she held on to give Adrien strength.

When they finally arrived, Marinette took Adrien’s hand and squeezed. He looked at her, seeming to calm down at the touch and her heart eased. He was fine, they were fine, everything would work out in the end.

“It will be okay,” she said to calm him down even more.

“I hope so, my lady, because I don’t know how we are going to get out of this reveal. And what will we do if it doesn’t work out in the end.”

“We’ll think of something,” they got out of the car and walked hand in hand to Nolace’s house. “Do you know what I just remembered?”

“Yes?”

“The first dinner with your father. You know, the one where he convinced me it was better to be apart from you.”

“Why did you remember that now?”

“I was young and innocent, I thought he knew what was best for you, since he was your father, but he was wrong. We are both stronger _together_. And that day I learned a valuable lesson, that being sincere is the best. If I had told you that your father had threatened me earlier, we would both have avoided some tears and hurt,” she took a deep breath. “So, if Nolace is suspicious of our marriage, I think we better tell the truth. Besides…” she stopped in front of Nolace’s door and pulled Adrien close by his tie.

He swallowed, his eyes on her lips.

“We _really_ act like a couple, we live together, we have complicity that no one will understand because of our miraculous. Our marital status doesn’t dictate our relationship. ”

Adrien couldn’t take it. He held Marinette’s face in both hands and kissed her sweetly.

“I’m sorry for disturbing such a passionate couple.”

The two walked away, blushing as the young girl smiled at them. She had a camera in her hand and a wide smile on her face.

“My dad is waiting for you and I need to go to my event. Please, come in.”

They entered the house and immediately, Adrien held Marinette’s hand, trying to contain the nervousness that burned in the bottom of his belly, especially when Nolace started to approach the two.

“Oh, Adrien! And you must be the famous Marinette,” Nolace squeezed Adrien’s free hand and took Marinette’s hand for a kiss, smiling when he noticed that they didn’t let go of the hands that were intertwined.

“Hello, Mr. Nolace. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise, my dear. You are more beautiful in person than in the photos.”

She felt Adrien stiffen beside her and squeezed his hand to calm him down.

“Can I offer you something to drink?” Nolace asked.

“Water, please,” Adrien asked. Nolace turned to Marinette.

“Same for me, thank you”

“Very well, follow me. Lunch should be ready soon.”

They followed Nolace down the halls of the house to the dining room. Adrien pulled out a chair for Marinette and sat down next to her. Nolace returned from the kitchen with a pitcher of water and glasses for them.

“The meat is almost ready, we will soon be able to eat. Can I offer something more?”

“Oh, no, thank you,” Marinette said sweetly.

“Dad, I’m leaving!” the young girl said, appearing at the door of the dining room. She had her hair tied up now and a backpack on her back. “I’ll be back at seven.”

“Take care and keep your phone on!” he said, going to her to kiss her on the forehead.

She said goodbye to her father and Marinette and Adrien and left. Nolace sighed and sat across from them.

“This is Clarice, my daughter. She turned eighteen a few months ago, but she still looks like a little girl to me.”

“She is beautiful,” Marinette smiled.

“Thanks. She remembers me of her mother.”

“And your wife, isn’t she going to join us?”

Nolace smiled gently.

“She passed away six years ago. It’s just Clarice and me.”

“We’re sorry,” Adrien said and Marinette nodded.

“Thank you. In the beginning, it was very difficult, but we are recovering.”

“I’m sure your wife is proud of you.”

“Me too. Anyway, I think we better get right to the reason that I called you here for,” he said, leaning over the table to get an envelope that neither Marinette nor Adrien had noticed before.

He opened the envelope and spread the contents on the table, two photos and the fake marriage certificate.

“I don’t know where you got this document, Adrien, but it is very well done. My contact took weeks to discover the flaw.”

“Nolace…” Adrien started, but Nolace raised his hand.

“Let me speak first and I will give you time to explain yourself. See, I hadn’t noticed anything wrong. The document was perfect and the photos looked legitimate, until Clarice saw them.”

Marinette leaned forward.

“Clarice studies photography and she realized that one of the images had gone through an editing process, but before she noticed a small detail that went unnoticed by me, your photographer and, thank God, the bank manager. Look at the two photos and see if you can see the detail.”

“Detail?” Adrien leaned over and looked at the two pictures, but didn’t notice anything alarming. He looked in Marinette’s direction, seeing her staring at the pictures with the same concentration she had when trying to put her lucky charms to use.

“The scar,” she whispered.

“Scar?” he leaned down, even more, when she pointed. In the first image, which Fu had taken after the final fight, there was a small cut on Marinette’s forehead, close to her right eyebrow, the result of some of Papillon’s attacks against her during the battle.

In the image that Nino had taken, Adrien cupped Marinette’s face with the ring and it was possible to see the same cut, but this time, it was the scar.

“There is no way the photos are from the same day unless you are some kind of alien who can heal quickly,” Nolace said. “Clarice showed me the images and we look at all the others, the scar is invisible. Only in this image that your photographer failed. And it is so small that it’s hard to see.”

Marinette leaned back, leaning against the chair. Adrien saw her bite her bottom lip.

“Yes, we forged the wedding,” she confessed.

“Marin–”

“And I supported Adrien at all times, even helped where I could. And we will accept the consequences of our actions together.”

Nolace smiled, looking at Marinette.

“I see why you fell in love with her, Adrien. She is really amazing,” he sighed. “I won’t report you.”

“What?!” they said together and Nolace laughed.

“I saw the movement of your bank account. You donated everything to the Institute and saved it. You didn’t save anything for you, even if this money could make your store grow or you stop working as a model, Adrien. But you chose to donate everything.”

“It was always our intention,” Adrien said, confused.

“Do you know the story of George, the founder of the Institute? He was akumatized for being frustrated at not getting a job after months of looking. After his akumatization, he developed PTSD. He looked for treatments and therapies and noticed that despite living in a place where akuma attacks had been going on for years, treatment wasn’t entirely focused on that. He had graduated in psychology, so he decided to open a place to help the victims, not only as a psychologist but also as someone who had been akumatized.”

Nolace sat back in his chair.

“He opened the Institute and received victims and donations. After Papillon was defeated, some people stopped donating because they thought they would no longer need it, but they were wrong. Some victims still need help, it isn’t easy to forget the terrors of the past and as much as Ladybug and Chat Noir were always present for the victims, they still needed support.”

Nolace swallowed and Marinette noticed tears in his eyes.

“Papillon took advantage of my daughter’s mourning for my wife’s death to akumatize her.”

Adrien and Marinette tensed instantly while Nolace took a deep breath.

“She became a villain who turned all mothers into her mother, because she thought it was unfair for other children to have their mother and she didn’t. She was twelve, she was helpless and couldn’t face grief, because an idiot – with all due respect, Adrien – used her as a weapon.”

Nolace looked at Adrien.

“I know he wanted to bring his mother back, but the means for that were unhealthy.”

“It doesn’t offend me, I have the same opinion as you. And I’m sorry that he akumatized your daughter.”

“It’s okay, I mean, it’s okay now. Clarice had many nightmares and developed PTSD due to her akumatization. I took her to several therapists, but nothing seemed to help. Until I found the Institute and took her there. And, I don’t know if it’s because she learned photography there and fell in love with it, or if it was because she was around people who felt like her, people who had been akumatized and felt the same things, thought the same as her. But it worked. She was recovering. She is still not one hundred percent, sometimes I think she will never fully recover, but she is better. And thanks to the Institute. Institute that was saved by you.”

And he smiled.

“Institute you _lied_ to save.”

Adrien swallowed.

“Adrien, your lie was wrong and could put both you and Marinette in serious trouble. You were very lucky that someone didn’t discover this, that Clarice did. I won't report you, but please, Adrien, get married to this woman soon.”

Adrien and Marinette exchanged looks and Adrien raised an eyebrow. Marinette sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Nolace, I swear to you that I’m trying,” he said playfully and Marinette gave him a light push.

“Thank you for not reporting us, Mr. Nolace. We promise that won’t do this anymore.”

“I sincerely hope so. And please, dear, you already act like a couple. Why don’t you just marry him? Well, anyway, I’m going to get our lunch. ”

Nolace was right. Why didn’t she marry Adrien, after all?

*

When they entered the house, Adrien took off his coat and threw it on the sofa and sighed, caressing his temples.

“This was better than we expected,” Marinette said, taking off her coat.

“I really thought we were going to get out of there straight to the jail,” Adrien laughed, throwing himself on the couch, shoulders slumped. He seemed calmer, more peaceful, now that there was no risk of either him or Marinette stopping in the prison.

Marinette sat next to him, laying her head on his lap. Adrien played with her hair, looking at her.

“I think we better get married,” she said. Adrien’s expression was priceless. He opened his eyes wide and started coughing. Laughing, she sat down and gave him time to recover. When he was better, he turned to her.

“Why are you saying this now?”

“People are right, you know. We already act as a married couple. We live together, we act like we’re married. Everyone already thinks we got married. So why not make it official?”

He looked at her as if a third eye had appeared on her forehead. Marinette laughed, rolling her eyes.

“What, _chaton_? don't you think it’s a good idea?”

“I think it’s an excellent idea. But now I’m trying to understand why it’s suddenly a good idea for _you_.”

“Well, my store is doing well and I think we can make our lie official. Besides, just because we’re getting married doesn’t mean that we have to have children right away. We can wait two years.”

“True,” he leaned toward her, scanning her face, looking for any hesitation. When he saw her smile widely and calmly, he gasped and closed his eyes, smiling as if he had won what he wanted most.

“When you want to propose, _chaton_ , I’ll be ready to answer you.”

“Well, in that case…” he removed the miraculous from his finger and Marinette gasped, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Adrien…”

“I had a very different idea of how I was going to do this. I thought of all the clichés in the world, taking you to your favorite restaurant, the top of the Eiffel Tower, the building where Oblivio happened… but I think that in the end, it doesn’t matter where, but the intention,” he got up.

“Are you… are you doing what I’m thinking you are?”

He nodded, kneeling in front of her, who was still sitting on the couch.

“Mari, look…. you don’t have to accept it now. Because I am going to make this request and it’s not fake. It’s not a lie. It’s the request that I want to make you accept to be my wife, for real. I just want you to know how much I love you and how much I want to be here for you. And I only want the answer if you’re sure of it, whatever it is.”

“Adrien…”

“From the moment you fell on me that day when we were two silly teenagers trying to learn how to be heroes, since you accepted my apology and my umbrella that rainy afternoon, I knew. I knew my heart was yours. Your kindness, your altruism, your kindness, and how you’re always willing to protect and help others. How you always take care of me and allow me to take care of you,” he cupped her cheek, stroking it with his thumb and feeling himself melt when he saw her lean her face toward him and close her eyes. “You are the half I’ve always been looking for. You make me feel complete. And I love you and I would love it if you accept to be my wife so we can start our family together. I want you to be the mother of my children. I want to be by your side in the difficult times and that you are by my side too. I want to take care of you and be taken care of by you. I want to show you, every day, how much I love you and I want you to show me that too. I want to be your _chaton_ , your partner, your eternal boyfriend, your husband. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, my lady, do you want to marry me?”

She smiled in a way that made Adrien feel so loved that tears were streaming from her eyes.

“Yes. A million times yes,” she said and Adrien gasped, relieved. She laughed. “What, _chaton_? Did you really think I would say no?”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t you think I love you?” she joked. Adrien took her hand and slid his miraculous gently on her finger.

“I know you love me. I’m going to buy you a beautiful and perfect engagement ring tomorrow,” he promised and she laughed. “But… did you like my proposal?”

“Come here, kitty. Let me show you how much I liked it,” she pulled him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him. Adrien hugged her, intensifying the kiss and melting into his lady’s love.

Finally, finally, she had said “Yes.”

She was going to become his wife.

And this time, it wasn’t a lie, no matter how sweet it was their lie.

This time, it was all true.

“No more lies,” she begged. He laughed, kissing.

“No more lies, no matter how beautiful they are, okay?”

“Okay.”

She hugged him and Adrien felt, as always, what it was like to be loved.


End file.
